Out Goes The Broomstick, In Comes The Gummi Ship
by Retse
Summary: HPKingdomHearts Crossover: Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons, Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling. ...Then the heartless came. SLASH WARNING!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/ Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

Warning... contains **SLASH!**

**Summary: **Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons, Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling. ...Then the heartless came.

**A.N.** Actually I wasn't going to upload this story but then I was like, what the heck, it's not going to get any better and thus I might as well upload and be done with it. :D Hope you guys like it as much as I liked daydreaming about it XD

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**Prologue.**

The screaming started again.

Harry sighed, emerald eyes nonchalantly fixed on the cobwebbed ceiling, once more wondering whether he was ever going to see the outside world again. Preferably before they carted him out in a coffin and tossed his lifeless body into the ocean.

Another part of him however had long given up this hope. He had been in Azkaban so long, if there was any chance of getting out it would have already happened. In any case though, this half of him didn't care anymore. Azkaban no longer had the same effect on him as it had years ago. The thought that he would spend the rest of his wretched life in here had also lost its power over him. It no longer bothered that he had been thrown in prison for the murder of one Tom Marvolo Riddle. And it certainly didn't bother him that the key witnesses of his 'trial' were his so-called best friends and family – witnesses of his 'descent into darkness'. In fact, it still made him laugh every time he thought of how they described his 'journey down the dark path' just like it did the first time they mentioned it. Though it supposed it didn't help his sanity case when he had burst into laughter in court. Oh well. It didn't matter. It didn't matter they had betrayed him. He was completely over it.

And it certainly didn't hurt anymore when he thought about it. Really.

The screaming grew louder.

"Potter!"

Harry lazily turned his head to the side, squinting as he tried to make out the figure in the shadows running towards him. Had the corridor always been this dark?

"Potter, listen closely," the guard practically shouted, hands fumbling with the large ring of keys in his hand while his eyes glanced over his shoulder every so often nervously, "You're really powerful aren't you?" Harry watched in confusion as the guard seemed to finally find what he was looking for as he shoved the dulled silver key into Harry's cell lock, "Here's the deal; I get you out and you protect me. Got it?!"

Harry stared at him, eyebrows wrinkling in bafflement as he slowly sat up, _protect him? __...from what?_ And then he saw it.

Just down the corridor, the last remains of any light was being swallowed up like a swarm of locusts across a field. It was slow but inch by inch, the edge of the shadow drew ever closer, the screaming starting to die down as it swallowed each and every prison cell in its wake as it glided down the corridor to the final cell. Harry's cell.

Ignoring the guard's screams of terror, Harry actually stood and took a step forward to get a better look, curiosity overriding common sense. At first he wondered if the dementors had starting mating, making the mini-dementors he could see now. But then he realised that wasn't right: there wasn't that certain **feel** the dementors gave off as they feed off their victims and since when did dementors start spawning anyway? As the creatures drew closer, he then wondered if the creatures were in any way related to house elves. They were quite similar in appearance... if you discounted the fact that they were completely black in colour, had beady glowing yellow eyes and were not dressed in an assortment of non-clothing like pillow sacks or something... In fact, they weren't dressed at all...

Suddenly one of them darted forward, digging its tiny claws into the guard. With one last ear-piercing scream, the man stilled completely and crumpled to the floor with a loud thump, glossy eyes still wide open. A sudden flash of bright light made Harry wince and blink but he didn't miss the glowing pink heart that rose from the unmoving body which disappeared in another flash of blinding light.

At this point, many strong men would be shaking terror at what would be **the end**. Harry however stood there, calm. This hadn't been the way he had expected to die but he was glad for it. It certainly will be a lot less tortuous to die this way than rotting away in prison. Yes, Harry was ready... and welcoming.

Another small creature broke from the large group that had all stopped to stare at him with their yellow gaze. The creature moved forward until he was right in front of the emerald-eyed man and started to stare at him too. Harry felt confusion welling up inside of him again; why hadn't it attacked him yet? And why does it seem strangely familiar...

After what seemed like forever, the creature motioned to Harry, turned and jumped towards its brethren before turning and motioning to Harry once more.

"You... want me to follow you?" Harry asked, voice croaking from the lack of use. The creature nodded before starting to walk the opening path as the rest of the creatures split into two groups. Silently Harry began to follow, unsure of what else to do. After an age of walking (his legs were weak from lack of use), they finally reached the door to the outside. Following the creature outside, he froze in shock as he took in the scene around him. Azkaban was longer an island surrounded by endless ocean – it was now an island surrounded by endless **nothing**.

Gingerly edging forward, he carefully looked over the edge of the island seeing nothing but a black abyss. The rock and water around the whole island had fallen away leaving the island practically **flying** in **space**. What in Merlin's name was going on?

A light tugging on his pants leg made him look to his side. Despite the fact they all looked the same; Harry just knew this was the same creature as before. It had that certain familiar feel to it, a familiar feel that reminds him of... "Dobby?!" Harry rasped incredulously.

The creature smiled at him, seeming very pleased that Harry had finally recognised him. It moved forward, hugging Harry's leg tightly, Harry kneeling down and hugging him in return, knowing the house elf was no doubt the only one alive left in the world that believed in him, "Dobby, what happened to you? And what's going on? What's happened to Azkaban?"

The creature just shook his head lightly and without warning pushed the wide-eyed Harry over the side.

And as he fell into the darkness, the familiar voice floated in his mind, _Dobby never forget the great Harry Potter sir who free Dobby. Now, be free Harry Potter sir, be free._

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_Read and review as usual to tell me what you think _:D


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/ Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

Warning... contains **SLASH!**

**Summary: **Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons, Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling. ...Then the heartless came.

**A.N.** Yeh, I know... there's a first chapter too with this update!! I'm just as surprised as you are XD let's just hope that chapter two comes soon and swiftly...

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**Chapter One.**

For a long while there was nothing.

Was he still falling? No, he didn't think so. He could no longer feel the air rushing past him as he descended but then again... when did he stop falling? Had he smashed against the hard surface below so suddenly he hadn't felt his death? In any case, he was certain about two things: one, if this was heaven (or hell even) then he was very disappointed. **Very**. Two: once again he was reminded just why he had forbidden Dobby from trying to save him ever again.

Suddenly, he caught a flash of light in his periphery. Flailing his arms and legs around wildly, he slowly managed to turn himself around in space so he could get a better look. There was something... No, someone. And they were falling. Just like he did. Maybe he was now seeing himself falling? He wouldn't be surprised: it'd just be another one of those crazy events in his life. ...Death. ...Whatever.

Carefully, he propelled himself forward toward the falling boy. No, it wasn't him. Locks of soft brown hair flapped around in the air as the boy dropped, doing a small back-flip as he gently landed on a circular platform. Harry watched in amazement as the shadows previously covering the platform flew off in a flurry of bird-like figures, revealing the magnificent stained glass mural.

He watched as a bright winding path appeared leading from one platform to another. He watched the boy dash forward along the path stopping as three blocks appeared from nowhere, each bearing a weapon. He watched the boy choose the sword and then in alarm, watch as the same shadowed creatures from Azkaban rose from the platform. He watched in relief as the boy fought off his attackers and then opened the door.

Blinding light filled the room and once again, Harry felt himself fall back into oblivion.

_Emerald eyes stared up at the sparkling jewels lighting up the night sky._

_Someone snorted suddenly beside him making the young man jump in surprise, "Somehow I just knew I would find you here Potter," the blonde figure said._

_Harry shrugged nonchalantly as he turned his gaze back up towards the sky, "Do you ever wonder if there are other worlds out there Drake? With people that is... ones that don't... fight all the time...?"_

_Grey eyes softened as they stared at the young man before him, "I don't know about that Harry, but I'm damn sure there's bound to be one. And you know what? We're going to find it."_

_Harry smiled softly at that but didn't tear his gaze away from the sky even as the blonde gently plopped himself down beside him. Together they silently watched the sky, trying to forget all the happened and all that's the come._

_Harry frowned, something was wrong. A sudden ill-feeling welled up in his chest making his eyebrows furrow, "What's wrong Harry?" the blonde asked seeing the look on his friend's face._

_"I don't know... something wrong..."_

_Draco snorted once more, "Something's always wrong."_

_"No, no... __it's__ not that... it's...," Harry paused and then gasped loudly, pointing at the sky, "Drake, look!"_

_Grey eyes turned to where Harry was pointing, widening when he saw what was happening, "A star's disappearing!"_

_Both pairs of eyes stared transfixed as they watch the star blink several times before disappearing completely. What happened?_

_But they didn't get a chance to contemplate this as a sudden loud commotion sounded towards their right, "Right, they're somewhere in here and surrounded! You already let them escape once, don't do it again!"_

_The blonde stood up sharply, ready to bolt at any second but a glance towards his best friend stilled him, "Harry?"_

_Emerald eyes were shut, "I... I'm just so tired of running Drake... I don't... just go Drake, I'm not going to run anymore..."_

_"And you're just going to let them capture you?!" the blonde hissed, "You're just going to give up?! Let them win?!" Harry didn't reply, continuing to stare solemnly at the ground. Draco sighed, "Then I suppose there's nothing I can do about it," he said, dropping himself back down next to the raven-haired young man._

_Harry stared up at him wide-eyed, "But..."_

_"They'll kill me on sight, I know that Harry. But they'll send you to Azkaban for life. I'd think that I'm getting the better deal out of the two and I'm not about to just leave you here by yourself."_

_Harry sighed and nodded, tentatively reaching out to grab the others hand. The blonde, clasped the hand tightly as they waited for what's to come._

_Suddenly, at least ten men burst into Harry and Draco's small recluse, wands out and faces sculpted into ugly sneers. Harry watched as sickly red lights burst from many of those wands, slamming into Draco's chest, tearing his hand away from Harry's and sending __him hurtling__ into a far off wall behind them. He watched as the blonde dropped heavily to the ground leaving splotches of red on the wall in his wake. He watched silently as several of the men moved towards the still body, kicking and cursing it while shouting profanities for the world to hear. He watched as they dragged Draco's lifeless body away. He watched as the rest turned to him, his own lifeless eyes staring back at them, sending chills down some of their spines. He watched as one of them faulted, unnatural pink and blue locks of hair fluttering in the air, seemingly irked by the brutality she had witnessed moments ago and was unwilling to participate any further. He watched as another, a familiar red-head, sneered and strode past her, wand raised towards him. He felt more than saw the wand being placed directly between his eyes. He heard those words he had heard so many times, __**a disappointment**__**patheticuselesstraitor... freak**__. And then the world turned black._

_And when he woke, his world would forever be one of cobwebbed walls, grey bars and those sinister shadows standing gleefully in the background._

_He didn't want to wake up anymore._

"Wake up!"

_No, he didn't want to wake up anymore..._

"WAKE UP LAZY BUM!"

Emerald eyes snapped opened, startled by the high-pitched shout. Eyes flicking around rapidly, taking in the brightly lit blue-draped white-walled room he was in, he also realised the other two hadn't noticed he was awake yet.

"Yuffie. Don't shout. Let him rest," the brunette in pink admonished softly.

"But Aerith! He's been asleep for aaaaages!" the smaller blacked-haired girl whined.

"Well, he's awake now. Why don't you say hello?"

The shorter girl spun around in surprise and then squealed with glee, "You're awake! Hiya! I'm the great ninja Yuffie! And this is Aerith. Who're you?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply but coughed roughly as his dry throat protested against the movement. Seeing this, Aerith quickly poured him a large glass of water which the young man took eagerly. Screw the possibility this may be some Death Eater trick: to him either he'd die from the poison or get to gulp down the nice glass of **clean** water for once. It was a win-win situation.

Yuffie laughed at him, "Slow down! It's not going to run away you know?"

Harry flushed slightly as he gingerly gave the glass back to the smiling Aerith, "Thank you."

"It's no problem. Did you want some more?"

The young man shook his head lightly, "I'm alright now but thank you."

The small ninja took this as her cue, jumping onto the bed in front of him with a bounce, a wild grin on her face, "So, so? What's your name?"

"Harry."

"Nice ta meet cha Harry! And welcome to Radiant Garden!"

"Yuffie!" Aerith admonished again, though for what reason Harry couldn't fathom, "Go and tell Ansem he's awoken okay?" The small ninja just shrugged and skipped out of the room.

_Radiant Garden..._ "Um... where abouts in Britain is that?"

Aerith sighed and gave him a sad look that did not bode well in Harry's eyes. Where in Merlin's name did Dobby send him?

"Harry, the thing is... your home... it's gone..."

Harry blinked uncomprehendingly, "What?"

"There are these little black creatures which you may have seen before you came here," at Harry's nod she continued, "They're called the Heartless. They follow the darkness that is present in everyone's hearts and they travel from world to world to take those hearts. In the end, they overrun the world completely and well... destroy it. That's what's happened to your world Harry... I'm sorry..."

Harry stared at her, her words running round and round in his head, all ending at one conclusion: _His Home was... gone?_ Aerith sat quietly as she watched him mull in his thoughts, knowing it was best to let him think it through a bit as had countless others before him. At first, Harry felt horror that all he had known was gone but then he began to wonder... was it really such a bad thing? All those that mattered to him were gone and the rest... they had all turned on him even after all he had done for them. No, there was no lost love between him and the world that was now gone...

Aerith looked at him in surprise, and a bit of worry, at the calm look on Harry's face, "Harry?"

Harry saw that look and understood what she was asking of him, "Life... wasn't... so good back there..." he offered weakly, unwilling to give away his life story to a stranger yet knowing he had to say something lest alienate himself from the only contact he had on this new world.

Aerith nodded in understanding and moved forward to give him a hug. Harry tensed at first at the sudden contact, contact he hadn't had in a long time, but relaxed eventually, grateful for the comfort the girl offered him.

As they pulled apart, questions running through Harry's head wanted to be answered, "So... how did I get here? Did anyone else from my world come here? And why here in particular? And..."

Aerith laughed, the sound of which seemed to soothe Harry's soul, "One question at a time and not in so much of a rush. There's plenty of time for you to find out," she smiled softly, "But for now, I can tell you that how you got here is a complete mystery but Ansem thinks you are here because this world is a centre of sorts of all the other worlds. As for if there are any others... I'm sorry Harry, but you are the only one..."

Harry smiled sadly, "It's okay... the ones that are the most important to me... they're all gone anyway..."

Her bright eyes looked down at him sadly, drawing him into another hug. This time however, Harry drifted off into a deep sleep, embracing the warmth she radiated like a phoenix in song...

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When Harry woke once more, the room was empty. The windows were closed but Harry could see the moon peeking inside between the drapes of the curtains. Vaguely, he wondered whose bed he was sleeping in and whether he had kicked someone else out of the comfort of their own bed. Then Harry wondered whether this was all a dream. He hadn't wanted to think that last thought but unfortunately it came unrelenting. 

He didn't want to go back to his cell.

Unwilling to chance going back at first, he eventually convinced himself that it would be better to find out whether it was a dream or not right now rather than wait for the inevitable hurt to come by itself. Lifting his arm slowly, as it felt heavy and weak, he reached over himself... and pinched. He pinched himself hard.

Let it not be said doing something like this was cliché... it works.

Opening his eyes, which he hadn't realised he had shut in the first place, he warily glanced around the room. Blue, white and more blue assaulted his senses. Not the grey he had been worried of. What's more, the blanket upon his figure was not the flimsy little piece that barely covered him but a lush and thick woolly blanket.

It wasn't a dream.

Gingerly he sat up though his aching body protested with every movement. It didn't change the fact he needed to go pee...

He winced slightly when his bare feet touched the cold stone floor but that passed quickly as his next step was in the fluffy dark blue carpet. Glancing at himself as an afterthought, he noted how incredibly large the pyjamas were on him and how close the ground seemed to be despite the fact he was standing up now.

Then the dawning realisation came.

Edging as fast as he could with his unco-operating limbs towards the closest mirror, he stared in horror as his reflection looked back: _Oh Merlin, he was short again!_

Flapping his arms around a little hysterically, he didn't want to believe he was short again. He had waited forever for that last growth spurt and for to be finally taller than most of the girls. Now it was all gone! It almost made him want to cry. Only almost however, as he then suddenly realised something else... _All my scars are gone! Including the one on my forehead!_ He thought as he briefly brought his hand up to brush away his fringe, _wait a minute... maybe...!_ He quickly flicked his hand in the air as he waiting patiently for the split second it took for the brief diagnostic scan to appear in front of him. When it finally appeared, he gave a snort of derision, strangely not feeling surprised at what he saw at all. _Only me_, he thought with exasperated humour, _only me_...

He was fifteen again.

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Read and review :D actually you know, it's not that important actually how old Harry is just as long as he young enough for Leon XD!! 


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/ Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

Warning... contains **SLASH!**

**Summary: **Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons, Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling. ...Then the heartless came.

**A.N. **Gasp! I new chapter is out XD but yeh... i hope you guys like it... some bits, especially the flashback, may seem a little weird cause i really couldnt think of a way to express what i wanted to write o.o in any case enjoy! especially those we reviewed last chapter! you make me so happy :D and please review! it was quite sad when i realised i had more alerts than actual reviews and that i only got four reviews cause i actually liked what i had written for once... oh well, im gonna chalk it up to not that much happening yet?

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**Chapter 2.**

Harry stared incredulously at his mirror image. When the initial horror finally started to ebb away, he rationalised that this was probably Fate's way of making up for all those years he had missed as a child and as a result of his prolonged stay at Azkaban... but this was ridiculous!

Harry jumped as the door suddenly slammed open; a blonde blur dressed in navy blue streaking past him and dove under a clothed-covered table. He froze as second figure run inside on seconds later, her long black hair whipping around angrily as she scanned the room, "Cloud! Why are you running? Don't think I didn't see you come in here! Cloud?!"

Angry brown eyes finally caught sight of the young boy standing uncertainly to the side and immediately softened though her stance remained guarded just in case a certain someone tried to make a break for it, "Where is he?"

In that split second before he replied, memories of all those times he had wished to be alone, for a little peace, only to have that wish dashed by a certain bushy-brown haired witch sprang to mind, "Who?"

Brown eyes narrowed at him, "The blonde boy that just came in here, where is he hiding?" she said slowly as if he was hard of hearing.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. No one's come in here in the past few minutes except you," Harry said, eyes flicking deliberately over to the closet.

The girl caught the glance, and just as Harry expected her to, she gave him a hard glare before striding over to the closet, "Cloud!" she cried, as she flung the door open squinting into the darkness when she didn't catch sight of the teenager immediately, "Cloud? Come out here now. It's not funny anymore!" she said, stepping deeper into the oversized closet.

Harry quietly slunk over behind her and while she wasn't paying any attention, quickly shut the door and locked it with the conveniently placed key that was still sitting in its keyhole.

"Hey!" he heard her muffled shout but he paid no attention as he realised the blonde had crawled back out from under his hiding place and was walking towards him.

"That won't hold her for long," Cloud said, voice soft but the girl still heard him, the banging and the shouting growing louder by the second, "Come on," he said, throwing the closet door one last frown before grabbing Harry's wrist and tugging him bodily out the door.

The pair raced down the corridors bumping into many disgruntled people with each turn they made. Harry had no idea where the taller boy was leading him but the further away the better. He didn't need to be a Seer to realise how angry with him the girl from before would be once she got out.

Eventually they got outside, the moon lighting their way as they sprinted across the stone path. A couple of minutes later, Cloud suddenly stopped, turning around to look at Harry. Emerald eyes looked back at him quizzically as the blonde stared at him intensely without a single sound. A brief moment later he seemed to have come to a decision, arm stretching out to touch the wall beside him. Harry's eyes widened in surprise when Cloud's arm went straight through the large slabs of stone unhindered. With a slight nod to Harry, the blonde turned completely and stepped fully through the wall leaving the other boy behind. Harry stared at the wall for a second before following him without hesitation, memories of Platform 9¾ wafting in his mind. _Well, at least I now know they have magic in this world..._

Inside, Cloud had already sat himself down on one of the beanbags, shifting through some books looking for something. The place, Cloud's secret hideout Harry assumed, was small but large enough to fit five adults comfortably. Five **short** adults that is. The ceiling was high enough for both Harry and Cloud to walk under but any taller and they would be cleaning the ceiling with their hair. Random books, bottles and other things were strewn across the room in an organised mess while a single large blade the size of Harry lay resting against the corner wall.

Setting himself down on the beanbag beside Cloud, he turned to the teen, "I'm Harry," he said.

Cloud paused in his search, looking at Harry briefly in confusion before understanding, "Cloud," he said, voice still soft despite they were far away from that scary lady, before he went back to what he was doing.

Harry went back to looking around the room. Scanning the titles of the books around him, his eyes widened when he caught sight of a particular book, _The Beginners Book of Magic... by MERLIN?!_ Bringing up his hands to rub his eyes, he glanced at the book once more, the name of the author remaining unchanged. He picked up the book slowly, uncertain if it were real or not, a picture of a light blue clad old man with a long white beard standing behind a cauldron staring back at him. _Well_, he thought after a moment's consideration, _he definitely fits into the cast of "wise, old wizard"__ well__ enough_, remembering seeing Dumbledore in a similar fashion as well as that wizard, Gandalf, from that Lord of the Rings series Dudley had been so avidly watching that last day he had spent with the Dursleys.

"Here, hold out your arm," Cloud's low voice suddenly cut into his thoughts making Harry look up in surprise. The older boy was waiting for him expectantly and Harry, uncertain what else to do, did as he was told. He watched the older boy overturned a bottle on a tissue for a brief moment before placing it on his arm, "It's going to sting a little..."

Harry hissed as a short but sharp pain travelled up his arm. The blonde wiped away any excess blood from the small cut on Harry's arm before tearing open a bandaid and placing it carefully on the smaller boy's arm. Harry watched him dumbly, _When__ did __**that**__ happen? Must've been when passed that weird statue... that thing could shish-kebab several people at once, wonder why they keep it out in the corridor?_

"You're not going to ask?" Cloud's voice cut into his thoughts once more, this time leaving Harry with no small amount of bewilderment at the older boy's meaning.

"Aren't you going to ask why Tifa was looking for me and why I was hiding?"

"Oh," Harry said, finally realising what the other meant, "Well, I'm sure you'll tell me if you wanted to. Otherwise, I'm not about to pry into business that's not mine..."

Cloud gazed at him with that intense stare once more, making Harry twitch ever so slightly. After a moment, he looked away sharply causing Harry jump a little at the unexpected action, _Did__ I say something wrong?_

Harry's worries were put to rest however when the blonde turned back towards him, this time with a book in his hand and the first smile he had seen on Cloud even if it was a reeeeeeally small one, "Here, I think you might want to read this book... Aerith told me about you and well... this tells you all about Radiant Garden from its history to modern day maps so you don't get lost."

Harry smiled back, "Thanks."

Cloud's smile grew a little more, "I think I should be thanking you for before," here he almost split out in a manic grin, "Very few would do to Tifa what you did today, fearing for their lives and all."

Harry groaned, "I so did not need to know that."

Cloud laughed a little before picking up another book, tugging at the bookmark he had left inside.

"You know..." Harry mumbled. Cloud looked up inquisitively.

"You should smile more often," Harry blurted out, "You have a beautiful smile." At that moment, he felt the strongest urge to bang his head hard against the stone wall, _W__hy__ in Merlin'__s name did I__ just say that?!_

Cloud however did not pummel him into a pulp for wounding his muscularity; instead the blonde flushed a little as he looked at Harry weirdly before playfully punching his arm lightly, "Shut up and read your book," he growled lightly.

And Harry did.

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Groggily, emerald eyes eased open. Gingerly, Harry sat up, his neck aching from the uncomfortable position he had fallen into when he drifted asleep, _Hmm... __when__ did I fall asleep?_

Glancing around the room, he found Cloud standing near the entrance back towards him and that large blade hefted onto his shoulder. Though he couldn't see his face, the blonde's shoulders were tense as he stood there stock-still, "Cloud? What's wrong?"

The blonde spun around in surprise but calmed when he realised it was just Harry, "Harry, stay here and don't make a sound, okay?"

Harry blinked in confusion.

"Just stay in here and you'll be safe. They can't pass the barrier."

"Cloud?" Harry questioned but he was too late; the blonde had already turned and stepped through the portal and out of sight, _What's__ going on? Who __is he talking about?_

Harry, never one to just sit idly, silently rose and edged toward the portal. The doorway wasn't see-through as he had thought from watching Cloud a moment ago but he **could** hear whatever was going on the outside. He could hear the shuffling of small feet – many and many of them. He could also hear the clang of Cloud's sword as it met stone resistance or as it scraped along the ground. What was going on out there?!

Harry shuffled anxiously from foot to foot. Cloud had told him to stay in here... but he couldn't let him fight them all alone! He could only do mainly basic spells without a wand but it was better than nothing. With that decided, Harry stepped through the portal, hand raised and ready.

Only to meet with the empty pathway.

"Cloud?" Harry called out tentatively, wondering a moment later whether that was such a smart thing to do or not. It didn't matter however as he received no response; good or bad.

"Cloud?" he called out again but still no response. Looking down one side of the path, he was amazed to find a castle, as big as Hogwarts, towering over him, _I guess that's where we ran from?_ Now that his senses had finally all returned to him, he could feel the tendrils of magic swimming around in the air, caressing his skin, _but that's not what's important now..._ he thought with a slight shake of his head to clear it of the strange haze that had settled in his mind, _I've got to find Cloud!_ _Maybe he went back to the castle?_ Before he started up the path however, he gave a slight glance behind him as a feeling like he was being watched came over him. What he saw froze him in place.

_The Shadows._

His last memories of Azkaban flashed through his mind as the same shadows he had saw there drew closer as they had done before. But this time was different, this time he knew what was hiding among the shadow. Step by step, he walked towards it, a chill running down his spine but he paid it no attention, thrusting it to the back of his mind. He could see them clearly now; their little antennas, the tiny but sharp claws, their glowing yellow eyes. They drew around him, parting as he walked past them and staring at him but with no malice.

And then he saw them.

It was Cloud, his spiky golden blonde hair a beacon among the black creatures swirling around him. There was another there as well, a brunette but it wasn't Aerith. No, this one seemed male, decked out in black and blade swinging in a wild but predetermined manner, the occasional gunshot ringing through the air and each time taking several of the dark creatures with it. They were fighting and the small creatures were of no match against them however... the numbers grew. More and more, the shadows came in waves. _They're being overwhelmed_, Harry watched in horror.

Looking down at one of the creatures still sitting at his feet he asked, "Why are you fighting them? Leave them alone!"

The creature shook its head and turned away.

"Cloud!" the brunette shouted. Harry glanced up once more, his terror growing as the blonde desperately tried to bat away the small creatures that had already started to cling onto him. The brunette tried to get to him but to no avail; there were too many barring his way.

_Why is this happening?__ I don't understand... _Harry thought disbelievingly, _Why__ are the shadows attacking them... yet leaving me alone?_

The shadows had almost completely swallowed the blonde teen by now while the brunette struggled to keep them off as well to his side. They were going to lose...

_No..._ Harry shook his head, _I can't let this happen..._ "NO!!!"

For a split second nothing happened as everyone paused in shock at his sudden exclamation and then, before anyone could react, a blinding light burst from Harry's body, overwhelming everyone with its brilliancy.

Then the light faded and all was quiet. The shadows were gone leaving nothing but the old stone path and the two wide-eyed males staring at Harry in astonishment.

And then there was nothing.

Nothing but the memories that plagued Harry's soul.

_"Stupefy!" Harry stared in shock as the red light hurtled towards him and struck him in the chest. Before he could crumple to the ground, the arms of his assailment caught him and gently lifted him up._

_Draco Malfoy burst in the room, eyebrows raising in question at the scene, "Neville... what-?"_

_"He was going to hold them off so we could run," the brunette interrupted with a grim but fond smile on his face as he watched the young man in his arm._

_Grey eyes filled with understanding, "I see..."_

_Looking up at the blonde in front of him, he stepped forward and carefully handed his precious load to the other man, "Take him and run. __**I'll**__ hold them off."_

_The blonde nodded, adjusting his arms slightly as he turned to leave, "Give '__em__ hell, __Longbottom__."_

_An uncharacteristic smirk lit Neville's face._

_-_

_Slowly Harry fought against the stunning spell that bound him and slowly he could feel his muscles responding, "Drake," he cried out when he realised with growing horror that the brunette wasn't with them, "Where's Neville?"_

_Draco stared at him for a moment, unable to reply as he continued to run blindly away from the __aurors__, carrying Harry in his arms._

_Harry opened his mouth to ask again when a tremendous explosion originating from where they were hiding just moments ago, a blinding light streaking across the sky, rumble and dust flying everywhere in its wake._

_"Draco... what was that?"_

_However the blonde still did not answer yet his silence was all Harry needed and then, the world felt a whole lot colder than it had before, "No..."_

_-_

_In other news, Neville __Longbottom__, close confidant of escaped felon Harry James Potter and suspected participant of the __Hogsmeade Massacre, blew up a whole street__ in a fashion reminiscent of Sirius Black at the end of the First War. __Longbottom__, surprising all by charging straight towards them, held his ground against the fifteen __aurors__ who were on site__, lead by former classmate __Hermone__ Jane Grainger__. As the battle seemed to draw to an end, with __Longbottom__ finally succumbing to the sheer numbers against him, he catalysed an explosion that did not spare even himself as he took the lives of the many __aurors__ and other ministry officials as they sought to capture him, Potter and Death Eater, Draco Malfoy, __of which the latter two __were seen escaping right before the destruction occurred and have eluded capture once more..._

_-_

_Once bright emerald now stared dully at the old grey stone..._

_No... __Nev..._

"No!" Harry cried, bolting straight up into a sitting position.

"It's alright, it was just a nightmare," a deep voice soothed, patting his back awkwardly.

Harry looked up and saw worried brown eyes, "Who...?"

"Squall Leonhart."

* * *

Please review! reviews make me all giggly and warm inside :D (btw Hermione's name was spelt incorrectly on purpose :P cause u noe, no one really cares how her name is spelt...) 


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **of the Harry/Leon kind... even if it seems a bit Harry/Cloud at the moment... which wasn't supposed to be... unless people want a threesome? o.o also, some coarse language thanks to Cid and the fact some symbols don't come up on this... plus a warning of unbetaedness as usual...

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came.

**Note 1:** Thanks so much to the peeps who reviewed! Happy happy joy joy they made my day :D I got less reviews than the last chapter though... :( hopefully you guys will like this chapter better and review loads so I get more inspiration hint hint XD

**Note 2:** _italics_ are typically flashbacks unless it's a one-liner.

**Note 3:** there is time jumping in this chapter and skewing of the original timeline to fit my twisted purposes... hehehe...

**Note 4:** for those poor people who have never played the games... Xu, Nida and Irvine Kinneas are all characters from Final Fantasy VIII while Zack is from Final Fantasy VII.

**Note 5:** an extra long chapter (for me anyway... approx. 5000 words o.o) resulting from me not wanting to study hahaha...

**Note 6:** I've got this horrible feeling I've forgotten something else... oh well...

* * *

**Chapter 3.**

Harry sat there silently. When he had woken up, Squall had hurried off to find Ansem and the others. Now they were gathered around Harry's bed as the elder man examined him. Yuffie and Aerith were conversing softly to the side while Squall leaned stoically on the wall next to them, eyes closed and arms crossed. If it weren't for the occasional "Hmm," that came from him whenever either of the two girls asked him a question, Harry would've thought he had fallen asleep on his feet.

_But where's Cloud? _Harry thought, a little panicky.

"Hmm, well apart from slight exhaustion, you're in great health," Ansem suddenly spoke up, capturing the attention of all the people in the room, "Now, Aerith has told me she had explained to you your situation, young Harry?"

Harry nodded, uncertain of what the old man was getting to.

"Good, good, then I suppose there is only one question that remains to be asked is what you will do while you're here..."

"Hey, wait!" Yuffie interrupted, "What about that bright light Squally-Wally was talking about? What's up with that?"

"Don't call me that," the tall brunette grumbled but the hyperactive teen paid him no attention.

"While I must confess I too am curious," Ansem said looking back at Harry after turning away to look at Yuffie when she asked her question, "I have the feeling Harry here has little idea also of what has happened."

Harry thought back and had to agree: magic, both wand and wandless, were no stranger to him but even he was confused at how that bright light could have burst from his body and dispelled the shadows. Never had he ever heard of such a thing occurring... "I'm sorry, I have no idea what I did to... were those shadows the Heartless you were talking about before Miss Aerith?" he suddenly realised.

"Yes," she said resolutely, though she looked a little perturbed at the use of Miss. Harry wasn't certain either why he had done that despite given permission to just use her first name but it had seemed wrong to him to address her so plainly for some reason.

"An ability like that could be useful," Squall suddenly intoned, staring intensely at Harry in a way that ran shivers down his spine, "More and more Heartless are appearing everyday and there is little we can do to stop them." There was a flash of something in Squall's eyes that Harry could only just barely catch when he said that.

_Guilt?_ He thought quizzically, _Why did he feel guilty?_

"However, it's far too great a risk if it uses so much of his power that it causes him to faint," Aerith added, giving Squall a stern look that made Harry feel even more indebted to her. He didn't want to be used as a weapon... not again...

"Actually, I think I may know what this power Harry here possesses but I cannot be certain until I confirm it with a friend of mine. I have no idea when he will return for a visit however so that brings us back to my original question," Ansem said plainly showing that the argument was over, "What would you like to do while you stay here, Harry?"

Harry bit his lip, "Stay here...? Are you sure? I don't want to be any trouble..."

"Silly!" Yuffie laughed, "Why would be any trouble? In any case, Cloud's taken a liking to you," she said, finishing with a cheeky wink.

"Yuffie!" Aerith admonished but Harry could see a grin threatening to break out on her face.

"Cloud... he's okay then?"

"Yep! He would've been here but he's getting the talking to of a lifetime from Tifa," Yuffie laughed, "Poor guy."

"Tifa," Harry mumbled with a slight frown on his face, "That's the scary long-haired lady I locked in the cupboard before right?" He then immediately flushed when he realised what he had just said without thinking, "Ah... I mean..."

Yuffie chortled wildly while the other occupants of the room had varying sized smiles, even Squall, "That's her all right!"

Harry pulled on his sleeve in embarrassment and then realised that Ansem was still waiting patiently for his answer, "Well... I love to fly," he said wistfully, happy memories of flying freely through the air suddenly coming to mind.

"Oh? Well then you'll get along greatly with Cid. I'm sure he'll be happy to take you up in the Highwind."

"He's also been complaining about the lack of good help," Aerith added, "So if you help out, you might be able to convince him to teach you how to pilot a gummi ship."

It didn't sound like the type of flying he was used to but that didn't deter Harry one bit; the thought of being in the air once more brought a large smile onto his face. And if he had to do a little work... definitely not a problem as he thought back to his days at the Dursleys, "Thank you, that sounds great! When can I start?"

Ansem laughed at the eager tone, "Now, now, there's no need to rush. You still need a couple nights of sleep to recover completely... **then** Aerith will take you to find Cid. There's also one other matter to address now that I think about it. Young boys like yourself don't like to be cooped up inside all the time and so, no doubt you'd want to go out and explore. However, these days, doing such a thing is very dangerous what with the Heartless around. So instead, Squall? Why don't you teach Harry how to fight with a sword? Cloud may also join you if he wishes. Is that okay with you Squall?"

The tall brunette nodded.

Ansem smiled, "Then it's settled," he turned to look at Harry once more, "Welcome to Radiant Garden Harry."

Harry smiled.

* * *

_That night Harry had a dream._

_It was unlike his other dreams however. There was no pain, no sorrow... no death._

_And most importantly, __**no memories**_

_He hated those the most._

_Personally, he preferred to remember in the comfort of his own consciousness; where he could choose at will what he wanted to remember (i.e. The happy memories) and what he didn't. But dreams of memories never allowed him that pleasure, forcing him to relive times he wanted to be forgotten but __**couldn't**__ forget._

_Thankfully, this dream wasn't one of those._

_There was only a sandy beach in this dream, a sea that stretched far beyond the horizon and a bright sun sitting far up in the clear blue sky. Palms trees complete with coconuts swayed in the warm, light wind._

_It was unfamiliar... but welcome._

_The was also something else... __**someone**__ else. A boy. A boy who looked awfully familiar... That boy from his dream?_

_The small brunette sat there silently, hands behind him propping him up as he leaned back._

_And then he sighed._

"_Is there something wrong?" Harry asked._

"_Nah... I've just been having these weird thoughts lately..." the boy then suddenly realising someone was talking to him, jumped a little as he turned his head sharply in Harry's direction._

_Harry smiled softly, hands raised in the universal gesture of no ill intention._

_The boy calmed as tilted his head quizzically, watching as Harry sat himself beside him,"Who're you?"_

"_Harry," emerald-eyes twinkled, feeling inordinately happy for some reason, "Who're you?"_

"_Sora."_

_Harry smiled, "Nice to meet you Sora. Now... I guess the question is... am I in your dream or are you in mine?"_

_Sora blinked.

* * *

_

Cid turned out to be a blonde, brusque thirty-something year old man who smoked like a chimney. Harry was a little sceptical at first when during the first time Aerith had taken him to see the older man, he was constantly shouting to one of his assistants to "get some fucking tea for the fucking guests!" An amazing airship trip later however, Harry decided to give the man a chance and eventually began to see how Aerith could describe him as a "nice guy, really!"

"You fucking little idiot! I thought I told you to put it over there!" Cid shouted at one of the other assistants, jumping around angrily.

Well, most of the time anyway...

Cid, seeing Harry's quick learning abilities and his mutual love of the sky, began to be a sort of a mentor to him like Severus Snape had once, if only less dark and scary and more... profane. He taught Harry all about what the young man recognised as muggle forms of flight – airships, air planes and even rockets. What fascinated Harry the most, however, were **Gummi Ships**.

Made from soft yet strong little blocks of gummi that could be moulded into many different shapes and sizes, a gummi ship was Radiant Garden's first line of defense against the flying Heartless that traveled from another world to help invade this one. Well, that was the idea anyway. Realistically, very few had to knack of flying a gummi ship. They were super fast and strong and, in some cases, enormous in size. It took a certain presence of mind to pilot one of these and one small mistake could make turn things very bad very fast. It just wasn't suited for flying so close to the ground. There was also the case that gummi blocks were rare and the number who knew how to use them rarer. As a result, Radiant Garden had only three gummi ships in action – two fighter ships and a larger transport ship.

Harry smiled as he carefully cleaned the outer shell of his beloved gummi ship, fondly named Orion. He could remember clearly the first time he had taken off in Orion and how she had eventually become his...

_Harry hurriedly ducked into the hanger where he was sure he'd find Cid. He winced as a bolt of energy blew up one of the Shinra cars behind him, flinging loose shrapnel into the air and into some very unfortunate people._

"_Cid! Cid!"_

"_No need to shout kid! I hear ya!"_

"_Then what are you still doing in here? We've got to go!" Harry slid to a stop as he neared the contraption that Cid was working on, eyes widening in wonder and gasped, "Wow! Isn't that a-?"_

"_A Gummi Ship," Cid conceded as he slip out from underneath it and then stood to look at Harry expectantly, "Well, what are you waiting for?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Get the fuck in already!"_

"_What? Me?!"_

"_No, I'm talking to my imaginary friend, Steven here," he said sarcastically around a cigarette, "Yes, you! Hurry it up!"_

_Harry blinked and hurriedly stepped forward and started to scale the small gummi ship, "But... shouldn't you pilot it? Or whoever it was that piloted it before?"_

"_He was shit," Cid deadpanned._

"_But... I don't know how to fly a gummi ship!" Harry said, a little panicky when he finally sat down in the pilot's seat._

_Cid scoffed, "Can't fly a gummi ship my arse! Listen to me, kid. Never in my years have I ever seen anyone as natural as you are at flying. The way you handled the Highwind even the first time... I'd give up my cigarettes before I'd let a gift like that be wasted! That's why __**you**__ are going to go out there and show the Heartless what happens when they mess with us!"_

_Harry stared at him wide-eyed, an enormous surge of happiness welling inside of him: he didn't know that Cid believed in him so much. He couldn't help himself, leaning forward to give the older man a hug._

_Cid grunted uncomfortably and patted the younger man on the back, "Go out there and make me proud, Harry."_

Cid had been absolutely right. As soon as Harry took to the air, he felt an immense sense of belonging. The Heartless didn't have a chance as he weaved effortlessly among them, destroying all in his path. Even the other gummi pilot, Nida, was in awe at the skill Harry had displayed especially compared to his own. Having piloted for almost ten years now, Nida's paltry taking down of seven Heartless ships was nothing compared to Harry's twenty-three on his very first run. Cid had spent the days following the battle smiling smugly at Xu, commander of the Balamb airship and Nida's boss.

Harry looked up as a flash of yellow blurred past him and ducked behind some crates. Harry, immediately having an idea of what this was about, quickly stood up and power-walked to the door, hand already raising to close the only open door to the hanger.

It was already half closed when a hand suddenly slammed on it and roughly pushed it back against the wall, knocking the emerald-eyed boy back as well. Harry warily eyed the new dent on the metal door beneath the hand, one more to join the many others that were there already, "Heya, Miss Lockhart. What brings you here?"

Brown eyes narrowed angrily at him, the newly fixed wall crumbling one again under the strain of her strength, but it didn't faze him. It'd been a two years since their first encounter and Harry had slowly grown an immunity to her ever since. She was fast and strong but he was faster and had more malleable magic at his fingertips.

Plus he had a friend to defend.

"Where is he?" Tifa growled out dangerously.

Harry merely raised an eyebrow at her, a sense of deja vu coming over him, "Who? Cid? Sorry, but he left a while ago to get some food. He should be back-"

"No, Cloud."

"That's right," Harry happily nodded, "There's no Cloud here," he said, deliberately misinterpreting her meaning, "You might wanna try the sky though – lot's of clouds there."

"That's not what I meant and you know it! Damn it, I don't know what Cloud sees in you. You're nothing but a good-for-nothing brat! He doesn't even listen to me any more because of you!"

"And what's wrong with that?" Harry drawled.

"You-!"

"Tifa, what are you doing here?" a gruff voice suddenly interrupted.

"Heya, Cid!" Harry said, waving happily at the approaching captain. Tifa twitched.

"Tifa, what have I told you? Don't bother the kid when he's working on one of my babies! If he makes just one mistake because of you..."

The busty brunette simply growled, spun around sharply and stalked off without another word.

"Bye, Miss Lockhart!" Harry continued waving cheekily.

Cid snorted, "You're going to get yourself smooshed into a box one day. A very, very small box."

Harry shrugged and went back inside to greet the blonde climbing back out from his hiding spot. Cloud scowled at the amused looks adorning both Harry and Cid's faces, "She rambled on and on about how dangerous Fenrir was and how it was tearing me away from my family. She insisted I destroy it. I... called her cow."

Harry burst out laughing while Cid choked on his cigarette.

"Thanks for covering for me..."

Harry sobered and settled for a smile, "No problem though... she is right about how dangerous Fenrir is..." Cloud frowned and Cid's eyebrows rose and was about to comment but Harry waved them off to say he wasn't finished, "I'm not saying you should destroy it. I know Fenrir means as much to you as Orion does to me and to lose it would be like losing both arms. Just... be careful."

Cloud smiled and nudged Harry lightly with his foot, "Same to you," he said dryly.

Harry grinned.

Cid rolled his eyes, "Okay, enough of this mushy stuff, I thought you had to leave as soon as I got back Harry? What's so important that you have to leave early today anyway?"

Cloud looked at Harry in similar confusion.

Harry jumped, "Oh! That's right. Squall said he wouldn't be able to spar with me at the usual time so he decided to change it to now because er... he knew you wouldn't mind," he said, looking at Cid with a sheepish grin.

Cid rolled his eyes again, "Aright, aright, get going then," he said, roughly stubbing the rest of his cigarette out.

"Thanks! Don't die from lung cancer before I get back old man!" Harry said brightly, ducking the cigarette butt thrown at him before grabbing his sheathe and sword from where he had left it in the cockpit, "Coming Cloud?"

Cloud thought for a moment, eyes widening when he realised why Squall had change the time and grinned to himself, "Right behind you."

* * *

"_Harry! Harry! Over here!" the hyperactive twelve year old boy waved vigorously when he caught sight of the older teen._

"_Sora," Harry greeted with a smile, "You're awfully chipper today. Something happen?"_

"_I made a new friend!"_

"_Oh?"_

"_Yep! Her name's Kairi and she's just moved to the Islands __**and**__ she's going to stay!" Sora said with a wide smile, "We've already gone together to look for shells on the beach!"_

"_That's great," Harry smiled again; he didn't know what it was about him but spending time with Sora always put him in a happy mood. They'd yet to figure out why they were meeting in their dreams but long given up pondering the hows and whys. Instead they spent the time getting to know each other and telling each other about their adventures. Harry was quickly seeing Sora like a younger brother._

_Harry tilted his head to look at Sora when he suddenly thought of something, "What about Riku?"_

_The grin on Sora's face dimmed slightly, "Well... actually, I don't think he really likes her... but," here, Sora brightened up again, "He's probably just shy or something though. I'm sure Kairi and Riku will become friends!"_

_Harry laughed disbelievingly and thought, Poor Riku...

* * *

_

"Bout time you got here," Squall said.

"Oops, sorry!" Harry laughed, "What matters is that we're here right?"

Squall froze when he caught sight of the blonde he had not expected to see following Harry, "Warm up," he grunted when he got over his shock.

Cloud gave the brunette an amused eyebrow raise in response, his expression saying, _Am I intruding on something?_

Squall scowled, a light flush appearing on his face, _I don't know what you're talking about._

Cloud grinned, _Can't get rid of me that easily._

The gunblade expert rolled his eyes and nudged past the blonde roughly.

Cloud laughed, Harry turning around to look at the duo in confusion.

* * *

_Damn that Yuffie, one Squall Leonhart thought angrily as he made his way down to the training area, hand clenching the bit of paper in his fist tightly._

_Dear Squally-Pie, said the note, Thanks for the free cookies! They were very delicious! -heart- Yuffie._

_Having just come from a long battle to lower the number of Heartless, Squall was tired, sore but most importantly, __**hungry**__. Seeing as the cafeteria was closed at this time of day, the brunette had counted on his secret stash of biscuits saved up for situations such as this._

_But Yuffie... argh! He thought. His empty stomach growled in agreement._

"_Mister Leonhart!" Harry greeted, standing up from where he was perch atop the railings._

_Squall grunted._

_Emerald-eyes looked at him quizzically, "Is there something wrong?"_

_Squall raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think something is wrong?"_

_Harry grinned, "Well, usually you greet me with a 'humph' but not today so something must've changed," he pointed out._

_Squally rolled his eyes and was about to reply when his stomach rumbled loudly. Silently, he shut his mouth and tried to will away the rising blush of embarrassment on his face. Harry's grin just widened in understanding, "You hungry? Why didn't you say so? Here!" he said, pulling a glad-wrapped bundle from his bag and held it out to Squall._

"_...What is it?"_

"_A pumpkin pasty."_

"_...a what?" Squall stared at the outstretched bundle a little apprehensively._

_This time it was Harry who rolled his eyes, "Give it a try. It's nice. It's not poisoned... I made it myself."_

_That didn't quell Squall's fears one bit, having been on the receiving end of many well-meaning but stomach-turning food prepared by friends, but... he was hungry and was willing to eat anything right about now so he took the proffered bundle, unwrapped it and took a bite without another thought._

_Squall stilled. It was... actually really nice._

_He swallowed and took another bite, the second bite just as delicious as the first. It was sweet yet it wasn't like any of the overly sweet concoctions Yuffie would eat by the barrel full. It also wasn't at all burnt which was a pleasant surprise. Harry had managed a feat accomplished by none but the actual cooks in Radiant Garden._

"_You... made this yourself?"_

_Harry looked a little worried at his reaction, "Yeah... you don't like it?"_

"_No, no! It's great!" for once, Squall wholeheartedly meant it._

_Harry beamed, "I'm glad."_

_As Squall popped the last piece of the pumpkin pasty in his mouth, he couldn't help but smile back at him, "Call me Squall."_

_Harry blinked and then broke out into a grin, "Okay, Squall."

* * *

_

Soon, having lunch together before their training session became a common occurrence for Harry and Squall. Several weeks later, they were joined by Yuffie who exclaimed that the food made by Harry tasted a lot better than the stuff from the cafeteria and, to Squall's chagrin, promptly stole the last piece of cake. Cloud, who had bumped into Harry in the kitchen during one of his er... 'tactical retreats' from Tifa, was invited to join them not shortly after. And if Cloud came, his three other close friends, Aerith, Zack and Sephiroth were not far behind. Harry was soon cooking for a small army but it didn't bother him at all. He had free reign in the kitchen, cooking what ever caught his fancy, experimenting with this and that. Things he never had a chance to try because of the Dursleys and later, the Weasley Matriarch. The others often came to help out as well and times like these always ended up a ball of laughter.

"Hey, hey, there's a party in here and no one thought to invite me?" Harry glanced up from his plate to see a man he didn't recognise dressed up like a cowboy sashaying towards them, "So... any room for one more?"

"Do we have enough food Harry?" Aerith questioned.

Zack glanced at the inhuman amounts of food and then gave her an amused look, "I think we have enough food to last us a year, love."

A silver eyebrow raised at that statement, "I'm not so sure about that. You alone can finish at least two-thirds of this with that bottomless stomach of yours," Sephiroth mused.

Cloud laughed and added, "Yeah and if Harry hadn't cooked this much, none of the rest of us would have anything to eat."

"Hey!" came the indignant reply.

Harry laughed and turned to the only man standing, "You're welcome to join us, Mister...?"

Squall paused in his eating and frowned, causing Yuffie look at him in puzzlement, "What's wrong Squally-muffin-cakes?"

Squall ignored her, Yuffie's eyebrows raising slightly at the unusual response.

"None of this mister stuff," the cowboy said with a leer as he crouched down next to Harry, "You can call me Irvine, pretty."

Squall slowly squeezed the life out of the cake in his hand, Yuffie's eyebrows slowly disappearing into her hairline at the sight. Aerith threw the other brunette a knowing grin which the stoic male religiously ignored.

Harry blinked and then flushed, "W-what? I'm not-" and then he froze in shock as Irvine reached out, wiped something something off Harry's cheek with his thumb and then stuck it in his mouth, "Got some cream on your face," he explained with wink.

Squall stood up abruptly, the cake in his hand nothing but a pile of crumbs, "Go away and get your own food Kinneas!" and then chucked the cake remains, showering Irvine with crumbs.

Everyone turned to gape at him.

* * *

"_Guilty."_

_Harry looked up incredulously as the whole court erupted with cheers._

"_Harry James Potter, I hereby sentence you to __**life**__ in Azkaban. Take him away."_

_This can't be happening, Harry thought to himself in denial. His eyes caught sight of a mob of red and looked to them helplessly._

"_Traitor!" one of them shouted when he saw Harry look their way. It chilled Harry to the bone... he couldn't believe it... they were imprisoning him for the murder of Tom Riddle..._

_Two aurors roughly grabbed him by his arms and pulled him from the small cell erected in the court. They dragged him through the crowd as they jeered and spat at him._

_Why was this happening?_

_What had he done to deserve this?_

_Where was his happy ending?_

"_Snap out of it Harry," a voice said worriedly._

_Harry looked up in confusion, What a minute... he thought, why is the auror worried... and where are we? This isn't the way to Azkaban... this was...!_

"_The apparition point out of this hell-hole," a familiar voice spoke up, bringing Harry out of his thoughts._

"_Draco? And Neville?" he asked in wonder, "But who...?" he looked at the aurors who had taken him, puzzled. He didn't recognise either of them..._

"_I'm glad you're okay, pup," one of the aurors smiled sadly at him._

"_Moony...?"_

_The auror he didn't recognise nodded, "Polyjuice," he said to answer the unspoken question, "and that's Shack over there."_

"_Moony..." Harry leaned forward to hug the older man. He couldn't decide whether to cry and smile happily..._

_Remus Lupin hugged him back and then nudged him gently towards the two waiting teens, "Keep him safe," he said plainly._

_Draco and Neville nodded solemnly. Harry looked at them all in confusion, "Moony, what...?"_

"_Go," Kingsley Shacklebolt said with a determined glint in his eyes._

_Draco and Neville tugged the struggling Harry to the apparition point as lightly as they could, "What? Moony...!"_

"_Goodbye, Harry," the aging werewolf said with a smile._

"_Moony!"_

_The three teens disappeared with a loud crack._

_The two remaining adults glanced at each other, turning only when the aurors finally burst into the room, "Where is he?!" one of them shouted._

_Remus just smiled serenely as he raised his wand._

_I'm coming, Padfoot... I'm coming, Prongs...

* * *

_

"Welcome back my old friend," the wise, old leader greeted.

"Good to see you too friend," replied the mouse king, "Cid mentioned that there was something important you wanted to discuss with me about?"

"Yes, my friend. This is young Harry," Ansem said, gesturing to the nervous young man seated in front of him, "Harry, this is King Mickey."

"Nice ta meetcha Harry!" Mickey said, stretching out his hand for a shake.

Harry quickly recovered from his shock at seeing a talking mouse but then again, he supposed he should have expected this considering old Scrooge McDuck and the triplets Huey, Dewey and Louie who ran the item store, "Nice to meet you too, King Mickey."

Mickey froze as soon as Harry's hand clasped his, "I see what you mean Ansem and I'm glad you called. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get here sooner."

"No problem friend. Ah, so I was right then?"

Mickey nodded.

Harry glanced from one to the other in confusion, a sense of foreboding coming over him, "What..."

"Harry, you are a Princess of Heart."

Harry's face went blank, "...I'm a what?"

"A Princess of Heart. One who possesses no darkness in their heart and one of seven who, together, are the key to opening the door to Kingdom Hearts."

Harry blinked rapidly before staring disbelievingly, "I know that, Aerith told me about them but... don't you have to be a **girl**?!"

Ansem chuckled at him, allowing the smiling Mickey to answer, "There are special cases."

Harry resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk ...repeatedly.

* * *

"Aww, do you really have to go?" Yuffie whined. 

Harry smiled sadly, moving forward to give her a hug, "I wish I could stay too but... King Mickey said it was too dangerous..." _for you all, that is... My staying here is putting you all in danger... _he thought morosely.

"We can protect you," Squall said vehemently, fists clenched tightly at the thought of the young emerald-eyed man leaving. Beside him, Cloud nodded vigorously in agreement, eyes glinting with similar determination.

"I can't...," was the almost whispered response as he leaned forward to hug the last person in the farewell committee who happened to be Aerith, "Take care everyone. I'll miss you."

"Though we may be apart, our hearts will always be as one," Aerith said softly, "We will see each again Harry."

"Too right!" Yuffie added with an energetic punch in the air and a jump.

Harry smiled and nodded before walking towards the ship and stepping inside without another glance back. So it was to everyone's surprise when he suddenly ran back out again.

"Harry?"

Eyes widened and mouths dropped open when Harry grabbed onto Squall's shirt, pulled the older man down to his and kissed him soundly on the lips.

"I'm going to miss you the most," he murmured as they finally pulled apart, a light blush spreading across both their cheeks. Without letting Squall get a chance to reply, he quickly ran back into the ship, appearing in one of the windows and waving vigorously as the ship's door closed and prepared to take off.

Eventually, Squall shook off his shock, a small but adoring smile gracing his face, and raised his hand to wave as well, _Me too_, he silently mouthed to Harry.

Harry beamed happily.

* * *

Chapter three done:D hope you guys like it and review me loads! XD actually this chapter could've been longer but yeh... I decided to stop here cause it was getting far too long than what I usually write and then you'd expect more from me in the future cant let that happen ahaha... :D 


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **anda warning of unbetaedness as usual...

**Pairings (just to clarify):** Leon/Harry, Cloud+Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (depending on whether Sephiroth is going to cooperate or not...), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/? (Yes, I'm twisting the real story for my own morbid desire) And some other random minor pairings... (+ stands for brotherly/friendship relationship... I saw it used for Gundam Wing fanfics and hopefully I used it correctly o.o)

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came.

**Note 1:** **OMG! 16 REVIEWS HALLELUJAH! ITS A RECORD FOR ME AND LIKE OMG THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE** -cries deliriously happily- the drought is over:D hopefully I wont let everyone down with this chapter lol

**Note 2:** an abnormally long chapter to celebrate lol even longer than the last: about seven thousand words...

**Note 3:** _italics_ are typically flashbacks (or in a different reality as per case in this chappie...) unless its a one-liner (in that case, it's thoughts)... I probably should use underline or something but meh... I like italics haha...

* * *

**Chapter 4.**

"_And this is your room," Queen Minnie said, leading Harry into a very spacious bedroom. Royal blue and blinding white assaulted his senses but Harry supposed it could have been a lot worse thinking back to the brightly coloured Gummi Ship Hanger. The room was about as big as his dorm back at Hogwarts; though, this time, the room was completely his as proven by the solitary but expansive king-sized bed. He even had his own bathroom and a balcony!_

_Silently, he stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked a small but well-kept garden and sighed to himself. He'd only been here an hour and he'd already wanted to leave._

"_What's wrong?" Queen Minnie asked as she stepped out beside him, "Do you not like it here?"_

"_Oh, no," Harry was quick to reassure. He didn't want to seem ungrateful of their hospitality; in fact he felt quite the opposite. His friends would not be put at risk because of him now and that's all the mattered... but it didn't mean he was happy about it, "This place is great," he said, wincing mentally at his obviously __**not **__enthusiastic tone._

_Queen Minnie seemed to understand though and just smiled sadly._

"_...Thank you," he then added after a moment's consideration, this time meaning it._

_The two stared out into the darkening sky, the stars beginning to sparkle with the wane of sunlight. They stood there, both searching for something; something he hadn't realised he was searching for until the diminutive Queen pointed it out to him._

"_There," she said, raising her gloved hand up towards the sky, "That's the Radiant Garden star."

* * *

_

It was strange.

When Harry stared up at the Castle, the centrepiece of all of Radiant Garden's hopes and ideals, he thought of home. It had the kind of aura and feel to it that made him believe he could happily spend the rest of his life there.

However, whenever Harry stared up at Disney Castle, he could only think of Hogwarts. He wasn't sure why, but the pristine white walls and blue turrets reminded him of his old home despite looking nothing alike.

He hated it.

From the sunny blue sky and fluffy white clouds to the lush green grass and perfectly sculptured shrubbery, he hated it all. Perhaps it was the perfection that reminded him of Aunt Petunia and days he had spent working in her "award-winning" garden that made Disney Castle so disconcerting.

_But that doesn't make sense..._ Harry reflected, _There's just so much magic here that it's hard to mistake it for Privet Drive. Plus there's also that hint of... lunacy in the air... No, it's something else entirely..._

In his final years at Hogwarts, the once sentient castle no longer represented his safe haven, his home away from "home". Instead, it had become a place of unbelonging.

And of false freedom.

This was what Disney Castle had become.

The stares he had received back at school, the ones he had thought he would never have to face again, had returned. People either shying away from him or flattering him in every way if only because of his new status as a "Princess". Save for the friends he had made in the King, Queen and their high court, Harry spent much of his time alone with little elsewhere to go but the perfect gardens and the expansive library. The World of Disney, despite being a centre of importance and strength in these dark times, was also small. As a result, he'd read so many books in the past months he was sure he'd have made even Hermione Granger proud... if she didn't hate his guts that is. He couldn't even find his sense of freedom in flying any more – the King forbidding him any access to the Gummi Ships lest Harry was accosted by rouge Heartless ships.

He hated it so very much.

With a soft sigh, he tentatively turned the page of his book, not wishing to alert any of the night guards of his presence lest they hustle him back to his room. He was carefully ensconced in gap amongst shrubbery that hid him from anyone walking along the nearby path, reading up on the Aero spell under the warm glow of his newly acquired wand.

* * *

"_Harry," Daisy said, drawing Harry's attention away from the fairytale story in his hands. The emerald-eyed loved these sort of stories; they always had a happy ending, "Donald told the King and Queen about how you learned a different sort of magic while you were in school. Seeing as there is little for you to do around here, we thought maybe you'd like to learn the type of magic we have here?"_

_Harry stared up at her in surprise, "Yes, please!"_

_Daisy smiled at his enthusiasm, "Wonderful. Come along then and I can take you to your new teacher."_

_Harry hastily picked up his belongings as well as a small stack of books and shoved them eagerly into a rucksack he had brought along. Slinging it over his shoulder as he stood, he stepped into stride with the Head Lady-in-Waiting._

"_You're new teacher's name is Merlin. He's just visiting for a week or two but according to him, that should be enough to get you started. He's waiting just in here," she said, leading him into a small room Harry remembered to be decked with minimal amounts of furniture._

_He nodded non-committally, thoughts more focused on what he could learn, remembering what he had learnt from Cloud's battered, old book of the most basic spells used in Radiant Garden and then from the library here at Disney Castle. But just as he stepped into the door-way, he froze, thoughts quickly backtracking over what Daisy had said, eyes widening and openly gaping as he took in the light blue-clad, wise, old wizard waiting patiently for them to arrive, "Merlin!!!"_

_-_

"_Good job Harry! You are certainly getting the hang of this!" said the wise, old wizard, waving his wand vigorously around in the air._

_Another conjured armchair swooped towards Harry but it missed its target as the young man quickly rolled to the side. Turning back in one swift motion, wand raised, he focused his magic to channel through the wooden stick as he was taught, hot burning flames at the forefront of his mind. A large ball of fire burst out from the other end of his wand, hurtling towards the armchair and hitting it dead on and reducing it to nothing but sparkles in the air. A couple more fireballs and blizzard spells with the occasional lightning bolt to push back the flying furniture clumped around him, he soon made quick work of the 'enemies' conjured by Merlin._

"_Alrighty, that's enough for today, Harry," the old wizard said, conjuring two more chairs and motioned for Harry to sit in one while he sat in the other, "Now, as you know, I'll be leaving tomorrow so there are a couple of things I wish to give you."_

_Harry flushed slightly in embarrassment, "You've already taught me so much... I can't take anything from you..."_

"_Nonsense," Merlin said, waving away Harry's protests, "First, here is your very own copy of my magic book. It contains the more complicated variants of the spells I've taught you the past week but I want you to practice the originals more before you attempt these. Is that clear? Aside from that, I'd like to give you this," once again Merlin raised his wand to conjure except this time what appeared was a staff, "Use it well, my boy."_

_Gingerly, Harry reached out to grasp it, almost dropping it in shock as that familiar but almost forgotten warmth of a wizard's wand in his hand. His original wand having no doubt been snapped as soon as he had been sent to Azkaban, Harry had been forced to use ordinary sticks as his focus. Having a __**real**__ wand gave him something he hadn't had for a very long time – control._

_Looking up, he met the older man's gaze with a look of gratitude, "Thank you."

* * *

_

Rubbing he eyes lightly, Harry look up from his book, vaguely wondering what time it was. A quick _tempus_ told him he should be heading back to his room soon lest he risk running into some the nights more unforgiving sort of guards. Tucking the book under one arm, he sneaked quietly back to his room. Huffing a sigh of relief when he reached it, closing the door behind him with a soft snap, he dropped the book on his bed and slipped into his night clothes.

And, just like every other night, he glanced out of his window to search for the Radiant Garden star.

_There_, he thought with a sigh of relief, _That's the one._

Every night, he'd perch himself on his windowsill and stare up into the sky to search for it. To reassure himself that it was still there... That the Heartless hadn't destroyed it while he was sleeping. And every night, he'd wonder how everyone was doing: whether Squall was eating alright, whether Cloud had managed to fend off Tifa, whether Cid had found new help yet, whether Aerith and Zack were still together and whether they had convinced Sephiroth to join them, whether Irvine had finally located his porn collection that was hidden away by Quistis and whether anyone had managed to keep Yuffie away from the sugar...

And then he blinked.

_No, wait..._ he thought with confusion, _I didn't blink..._

And then it happened again: the Radiant Garden star blinked.

Emerald eyes widened when they realised exactly what was happening. Swiftly, the young man stood and started running. He sprinted down the silent halls, making no effort to quiet the sharp clap of his shoes in his haste.

"Shit!" he shouted as he accidentally banged into a suit of armour as he rounded a corner. The suit tipped over, crashing into the one beside it and one by one like dominoes, at least six suits of armour fell to the ground. He'd probably woken up the whole castle by now but he didn't care... Radiant Garden was in danger! He needed to find King Mickey and fast!

"Gosh! What's wrong Harry?" King Mickey questioned when Harry burst into the study.

"Radiant Garden!" he blurted out, "It's disappearing!"

The occupants of the room all gasped.

"Oh dear! Is there nothing we can do?" Queen Minnie turned to her husband, an anguished look on her face.

"No... there is little we can do at the moment," Mickey said sadly, "I'm sorry Harry but we cannot interfere."

"What?" Harry rasped out in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Radiant Garden also has its own transport Gummi ship. I'm sure your friends are going to fine."

"**One **transport ship.What if..."

"Harry... Where would you take all these people you save?" Daisy suddenly asked the silent teen, "You've learnt how the worlds have been separated until recently... How will any world be able to withstand the sudden appearance of so many people who have no understanding of that world's culture? It would throw everything out of balance..."

"That's right," Goofy piped up, "We have to keep the World Border."

"Order!" Donald corrected before turning to back to the teen, "I'm sorry Harry."

Harry stared down the floor blankly. Yes, he understood what they were talking about... But... this was different... **he wasn't about to stand here while his friends no... **_**family **_**died!** He held back a sob as he tore out of the room without another word.

"Harry!"

He ran blindly down the hall at first, ignoring the curious and disgruntled looks of the people he had woken with the raucous he had caused, 'what ifs' running through his mind. What if the Heartless got to the Gummi ship before the people did? What if it had fallen into a crevasse and beyond reach because of the Heartless? What if they had reached the ship but because of the limited capacity... they were left behind? Soon his mind cleared and focused on one thing: He was going to save them and to that he was going to need a Gummi Ship.

He immediately thought of choosing the largest Gummi Ship but quickly crossed out that idea knowing it would be suicide to do so. While its defence would be high and could carry a large amount of people, the low manoeuvrability would not allow the ship to last long among the large army of Heartless Gummi ships that would surely guard the world as their brethren ransacked the ground for hearts.

No, his best course of action would be the Wishing Star.

The Wishing Star was fast, had high manoeuvrability, semi-high defences and three thundara-Gs for fire power. It could also carry twelve people surprisingly well for its small to medium size and without lowering any of its capabilities. It was his best bet.

Reaching the hanger in record time, he paused just outside the door, peaking inside silently. Thankfully, very few people worked in the hanger. The only ones he had to worry about were Chip and Dale who weren't likely to lend him the Wishing Star without the King's permission.

_The invisibility cloak would come in handy right about now_, he thought to himself with a frown but there wasn't anything he could do about that. He'd just have to sneak in very quietly...

It was actually a lot easier than he had thought possible. With Chip and Dale still nattering away, no other guards had been sent to watch the Gummi Ships. He easily slipped past them, completely out of their line of sight and ducked into the section that contained his target. With a flick of the switch, he was soon inside and strapping on his seat belt and starting up the engines. The sound of the Wishing Star warming up alerted the chipmunks of his presence but by now it was too late. Ignoring their cries of "Stop!", the ship hovered up into the air... and smashed straight through the barrier to the outside.

_Next Stop – Radiant Garden.

* * *

_

Mere minutes later and he could already see it. That familiar shroud of black, that shroud of shadow that ensconced Radiant Garden, almost swallowed it whole. This time was different to the last time he faced this shadow however. This time fear filled every fibre of his soul. Fear for his friends, for his family. Fear that the Heartless could taste when they couldn't find his darkness.

And so, the Heartless came.

The Wishing Star drew near without hesitation. Harry was ready to strike down all those who got in his way and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Ship after ship soared towards him, many of which became at the receiving end of deadly blasts of energy. The lucky few that managed to survive this, Harry swiftly manoeuvred around, refusing to slow down even a little. His defences were taking a battering from random bolts of energy which seemed to fly out towards him from no where but Harry aid them little attention. He had a more important task at hand and was soon reaching his destination, leaving him to ponder one last question: how was he supposed to land with so many Heartless tailing him?

Not a second later was Harry mentally slapping himself on the forehead when he realised the most obvious way to solve this problem. It was horrendously risky but it was his only chance.

He wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.

Slowly he tilted the ship forward into a steep dive, the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he hurtled towards the ground.

_Just a little closer_, he thought, the ship vibrating ever so slightly beneath his fingers from the sheer force of the dive, _a little close... NOW!_

With a jerk, he pulled back the controls. For a split second, he feared he had pulled up too late, the ground being far too close for comfort but thankfully, the ship shakily evened out, gliding along mere metres from the ground. Loud explosions behind him told him his planned had worked, a wide and wicked grin plastering on his face as he turned back towards the front.

"Whoa!" he cried out, quickly veering the Wishing Star to the left, barely missing the black mass that was in front of him. Another jerk sent him back up high in the sky, a large arm swooping across the area he was in mere moments ago.

_That's one big Heartless_, he thought, staring down at it warily.

He was almost there now, the castle within in his sight. From the distance, it seemed as if untouched by the presence of the Heartless; every nook and cranny still held the grandeur of what Harry remembered it to be. However, he could tell it had changed. It no longer exuded that tranquil aura it once had. It was nothing but a hollow shell of what it once was. A Hollow Bastion.

Scoping out the surrounding terrain that had become wrought with large crevasses, the Heartless practically seeping out of the seems of the earth, he landed on the closest plateau to the castle he could find. With Morning Star in hand to blast away at the Heartless gathering around the ship, he quickly set out to search for his friends.

For the first few torturous minutes, he could find no one; fear clenching at his heart more frantically than before.

Then, finally, a flash of golden yellow among the sea of black: Cloud.

He hurried forward, not willing to give into that little voice telling him the blonde was already gone, and it wasn't long until he found himself kneeling next to the still body of his friend.

"Cloud! Cloud!" he cried as he shook the blonde, hastily biting out a cure spell when there wasn't any response.

To Harry's relief, the blonde twitched, a soft groan escaping his lips as glowing blue eyes slowly pried open to stare disbelievingly at him, "Harry?"

"Cloud," Harry rasped happily as he smiled brightly down at the older teen in his arms.

Cloud blinked and then smiled back, raising his hand to softly brush away the tears of joy from Harry's face.

"Harry..." the smile morphed into grief as Cloud suddenly remembered something.

Harry looked at him in worry, "What is it?" he asked, even though he was afraid of what the answer might be.

"Zack..."

"Zack?"

"He's... He's gone," Cloud choked back a sob.

Harry closed his eyes in pain. While he and Zack were merely close acquaintances, the older raven-haired man was also Cloud's best friend. And for Cloud to lose him... it was a pain Harry knew all too well...

"The Heartless," he mumbled with slight resignation. He couldn't save everyone... He could never save everyone...

"No, not the Heartless."

Harry's eyes snapped open in surprise, "Not the Heartless? Then who-?"

Cloud didn't get the chance to answer however as a strong hand suddenly gripped the back of Harry's neck and roughly dragged him away from Cloud. When he struggled, the gripped tightened and lifted him several centimetres of the ground. He couldn't breathe...

"Another one?"

"Sephiroth, no!" Cloud cried weakly from the ground. He tried to stand but his aching limbs wouldn't support him, "He's not from this world. Let him go."

Black spots started to appear in Harry's vision. He tried reaching his wand but it was batted away with a simple slap.

"That may be so but... a heart without darkness. Mother would want to meet him," the one-winged angel said as he strode over to the nearest crack in the earth, kicking away Cloud's hand as he struggled to grasp the general's leg in an attempt to stop him.

"Mother, I have a gift for you," the silver-haired man murmured.

"Please! No!" Cloud cried out once more but it was all in vain. Sephiroth had already dropped the unconscious Harry into the dark abyss.

* * *

The floor was cold as he lay there, not quite ready to face reality just yet. 

Unfortunately. There was something brushing against his face incessantly. Raising a hand, he batted it away irritably but as soon as his hand dropped back down, it returned.

Begrudgingly, he slowly pried his weary eyes open... his gaze meeting beady yellow ones.

Startled, he sat up straight at sight he had most certainly expected. That was when he realised he wasn't in reality after all. Stretching into infinity in almost every direction was a black expanse. Only the sky remained a strange stormy grey that seemed to ripple and curl like waves across water.

A small hand pressed against his arm broke him out of his reverie, turning his attention back towards the small Heartless at his side, "Dobby?" Harry asked uncertainly.

The creature nodded.

"Dobby, where is this place?"

As if to answer his question, the floor suddenly lit up all around him, blindly Harry with its brilliancy. When it finally settled, a glowing circular stained glass mural was left in its wake. To his right were the visages of the seven Princesses of Heart. To his left was a picture of a sleeping Sora, a large key resting in one hand.

Harry grimaced, this confirming his long feared suspicions. Sora was the fabled keyblade master, destined to save the worlds or bring it all to ruin. Something that Harry was none to happy about... What was it about fate and forcing children to take on such burdens? And for their dreams to be linked as they were... he didn't want to fight any more... but he supposed there was no other way.

Small feet pitter-pattered across the glass as Dobby stepped up to one of the princesses and pointed at it vigorously.

Harry grimaced again and sighed, "I know... No matter that princesses are meant to be **female**, both King Mickey and Ansem insisted that I am one."

Dobby continued to jab his small finger at the portrait, urging Harry to come forward. With a frown, Harry stood and made his way over, "I know, Dobby. I know I'm-"

Harry paused. His portrait was flickering wildly unlike the rest of the mural. It reminded him vaguely of a muggle light bulb near the end of its life. Tentatively. He reached out to touch it and to his surprise, his image morphed. Instead of the black-haired emerald-eyed boy, a small girl with he blonde hair held back by a single light blue band was in his place. It was only for a moment however as soon the image flashed brightly once more before fading back to his mirror image, now no longer flickering but with a solid glow like the rest of the mural.

_What could this mean?_ He thought, _Was I not meant to be a princess after all? Was it supposed to be this girl? But then... why? Why would they replace this girl with __**him**__ of all people? And more particularly, a __**boy**..._

"Is this what you wanted to show me?"

Dobby nodded.

"Then... do you know... why?"

Dobby stared at him. Harry, thinking this meant that the Heartless didn't, felt his heart sink. He hated this feeling; the feeling of being left in the dark about his destiny. Whatever it was he must face... why couldn't it be revealed to him earlier so he could bloody prepare?! He wanted to be ready, damn it!

Suddenly the elf pointed to something behind Harry. The young man blinked before quickly spinning around. Another flash of light and there, from the side of the platform, one by one different coloured blocks appeared, all aligned to make a path leading to another platform in the distance.

Without another thought, he darted forward, sprinting across the path and there, in the middle of the platform was a solitary door. Pressing his hand on its greyish-silver arch, he hesitated. He was scared... scared of what may lie on the other side. Yet... he knew it was something he had to do and it was better to find out now rather than later at a critical moment...

He opened the door...

_**Harry**..._

_Harry squinted, blinding white light seemed to come from every direction._

_**Harry**..._

_He could see something there though, just in front of him. Three figures..._

_And why did that voice sound so familiar?_

_**Harry.**_

_The light faded slightly but it was enough that Harry could look around now without squinting. And then he froze. The three figures..._

_Draco, Neville and Remus..._

"_Drake! Nev! Moony!" he shouted happily, tears already welling up in his eyes. The three turned towards him and smiled as he started sprinting towards them. His family... he had missed them so much._

_Then out of no where a layer of thick grey fog appeared. He looked around in horror as it shrouded every inch of the room until Harry could barely see even a metre ahead of him, "Drake? Nev? Moony?" he called out uncertainly, unsure of where they were any more. He felt so confused..._

"_No..." he sobbed, "No... Where are you?" he dropped down to his knees in disbelief and silent grief, "Please..."_

_**Do you want to see them?**__ A different voice called out to him._

"_Yes!"_

_**Then come...**_

_Harry unsteadily stood and staggered into the darkness..._

"Harry!"

Emerald snapped open in surprise but immediately regretting as bright sunlight shone unrepentantly into them.

"Harry, you're okay! I'm so glad. What happened? When did you get here?** How **did you get here?"

Harry blinked, "Sora?"

Dazzling blue eyes twinkled down on him and an equally blinding smile graced his face, "Yep! And guess what? This isn't a dream! You're really here! ...well, at least I don't think this is a dream... I might have taken a nap actually... hmm..." the brunette sat back, hand scratching the back of his head uncertainly.

Harry blinked again and sat up. Lifting a sand covered hand, he reached up and pinched Sora.

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?" Sora pouted, rubbing his cheek gingerly.

Harry grinned, "Well, now we know this isn't a dream."

Sora rolled his eyes but smiled.

"So, where are your friends?"

"Oh! Riku's on the other side of the island," the brunette pointed to a wooden doorway which Harry assumed led to the other side, "I think he's training or something and I think Kairi's there too waiting for... Oops! I was meant to be gathering some supplies for our raft," he said laughing nervously but then immediately perked up, "Hey! You can help me!" he said with a bright smile.

"Sure, why not?" Harry replied, standing up. Destiny Islands was just as beautiful as it was in their dreams, if not more so. Sparkling sand, clear blue sea, sunny sky without a cloud in sight and palm trees swaying in the gentle cool breeze. The perfect tropical paradise. The kind of place Harry had always envisioned himself visiting after he defeated Voldemort...

_That dream I just had... was that all real? _he thought with a frown.

"Something wrong?" Sora asked him worriedly.

Harry smiled at him reassuringly, "It's okay, I'm fi- well... actually no I'm not... but I will be. Don't worry about me."

Sora bit his lip and looked at him uncertainly.

"How about you tell me what we need to find for Kairi," Harry offered.

"Alright," Sora said, still looking uncertain but at least he was smiling once more, "Well, we need a seagull egg, three mushrooms, two coconuts, three fish and some drinking water. I've already got the mushrooms, the seagull egg and the coconuts. So I just need three fish and the drinking water. She told me not to get the water from the sea so I guess we could get the water from the fountain."

Harry nodded and the two of them headed over to the fountain.

"So how did you get here Harry?"

Harry frowned slightly, "Actually I'm not to sure..." His thoughts drifted back to his last moments at Radiant Garden. _What happened to Sephiroth? Why would he hurt Zack and Cloud? I hope Cloud's okay_, he thought, worry he was trying to hold down kept on creeping up on him, _and how __**did **__I get here...?_

"Well, I was just resting my eyes back there when there was this sudden bright light and then whammo! You come flying out of it and probably would have crushed me too if I didn't roll away at the last second," Sora laughed, "None of the other guys seem to have seen it which is kinda strange since it **was **really bright but oh well..." then he gasped as a thought struck him, "Hey, Harry. You don't think I'm the only one can see you, do you? I mean, that'll explain why no-one saw the light! Wow! That's so cool! It'd be just like those movies!"

Harry snorted, "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Which one of your friends is that?"

"Oh, hey Wakka!"

"Hey, Sora. Whose you're friend, ya?"

"You can see him? Darn..." Sora pouted while the orange-haired blitzball player looked at him in confusion.

Harry laughed, "Hiya, I'm Harry."

"Nice to meet ya. Didya just move here?"

Harry grinned, "I suppose you can call it that."

Wakka looked befuddled, "Well, I'm off to play blitzball with Tidus. Seeya guys later, ya?"

"Bye, Wakka!" with that, Sora hopped off to the fountain nearby and started to fill the drinking bottle with the water from the waterfall. Harry waited patiently, eyes turning towards a small cave towards the side, feeling drawn to it for some reason.

"That's our secret place," Sora piped up seeing what Harry was looking at, "I used to think there was a monster in there or that it went somewhere special or something. Turns out its only a stupid cave. We can check it out if you want?"

Harry shook his head, "Naaah, we better go catch those fish of yours. You shouldn't keep your friends waiting," he said with a smile.

"Alright then! Let's go!" with a smile and a jump, the brunette jogged off towards the sea. Harry shook his head again but this time in amusement and hurriedly followed him.

When he got there, he saw Sora was having a little trouble catching them, laughing when Sora lunged at one only to miss and be completely soaked in water. Sora huffed moodily at him, "It's not funny. Why don't you try then?"

Harry smirked cheekily and pointed at the fish, "_Accio_ fish, _accio_ fish, _accio_ fish," he said in succession.

Sora's eyes widened in awe as three fish were pulled out of the water and sailed straight into Harry's waiting arms, "Wow!" he said, previous irritation easily forgotten, "That's so cool! How'd you do that?"

Harry grinned, "Magic," he said simply before handing the three fish over to Sora.

"Cool! Could you teach me?"

"Sure," Harry nodded, _you're going to need all the help you can get... _he thought sadly.

"Really? Great! Come on! Let's get this stuff to Kairi and then you can teach me!" The brunette ran off practically skipping with Harry following close behind.

Stepping through the door to the other side of the island, a silver-haired teen stood there staring off into space. He turned round to greet his best friend but froze when he saw someone following behind brunette and frowned, "Who're you?"

"Riku! This is Harry," Sora grinned happily, "See, I told you he was real."

Riku only hmmed non-committally and continued to stare at Harry suspiciously. The raven-haired teen merely smiled back at him amused, having some clue as to what the other boy was thinking, "Don't worry. I already have someone. He's all yours."

Riku scowled, turning around to face away from them while Sora looked on in confusion, "What're you talking Harry? Who's Riku's?"

"You better take hurry and give that stuff to Kairi. She's been waiting for quite a while," Riku said, completely ignoring Sora's question. The brunette didn't seem to mind though, instead nodding his assent, jumping off the ledge and running off again forcing Harry to hurry after him.

"Kairi! Kairi! Here!" Sora practically shouted, almost shoving the supplies into Kairi's surprise arms, "Okay! So I'm done? I'm done?" he asked her for confirmation. He couldn't wait until he could do that cool magic stuff Harry had done!

Kairi gave him a fond glance before turning to look a Harry curiously.

"Oh, this is Harry. He said he'd teach me magic when I'm done. Soooo... am I done?"

Harry snorted in amusement beside him.

Kairi smiled apologetically, "Yes you are Sora but you left it so late we have to go home now. Sorry, Harry will just have to teach you tomorrow."

"Aww..." Sora pouted.

Harry laughed, "Don't worry, I don't think I'll be going anywhere any time soon. They'd be plenty of time for me to teach you."

Sora looked at him, pondering, "That's right, where are you going to stay? And how are you going to get home? Hey! You can come with us on the raft! Harry knows all about the outside world," he added to a pensive Kairi.

Harry laughed, "I don't know everything Sora. Just Radiant Castle and a bit of Disney World. Anyway, I'll just stay at the secret place you pointed out to me before and decide what to do later."

"You don't hafta stay there Harry, you could always come home with me!"

"I don't think you're parents would be too happy with you bringing a stranger home, Sora," Harry mused.

"But-"

"It's okay Sora. I've slept in far more uncomfortable places."

"Alright... I'll see you tomorrow then?" Sora looked up at him hopefully.

"Right," Harry smiled.

* * *

The sun setting, Harry carefully made his way down the small tunnel of the secret place. For a moment, he was actually glad he was small for his age, knowing making his way down would have been a lot more uncomfortable. 

He could feel it. That pull that drew his attention to this cave in the first place. The walls seemed to be brimming with magical residue and Harry was eager to find out where it came from. Maybe it was a way home?

Following the feeling, he was surprise it began from a wooden door that seemed to be etched into the cold stone walls of the cave. He could see no handle, no keyhole, no markings, nothing that gave him a clue as to how to open it.

"_Alohomora_," he whispered softly, hand pressed against the door. Nothing happened.

"That won't work," a voice said behind making Harry spin around in surprise.

"Who are you?" he asked the cloaked figure apprehensively.

"Who I am matters not at this moment."

"Oh?" Emerald eye's narrowed, "And what does matter?"

"What matters is **what I can do for you**."

Harry scowled, "And what makes you think you can do something for me," eyes flicker to the side as he wondered whether he could manage to slip past the stranger.

"You miss your family... don't you?"

Harry froze.

"And I don't mean those quaint little friends you made in Radiant Garden. I mean your true friends... your **wizard **friends."

Harry didn't answer.

"You can get them back."

Emerald-eyes closed as the teen swallowed the lump caught in his throat as he thought of his family. Would he really trust this unknown man for the chance to get them back?

Yes, he would. He'd sell his soul if it meant getting them back.

Darkening eyes stared at the hooded stranger, "I'm listening," Harry said coldly.

And beneath his hood, the stranger smirked.

* * *

_Sora, let's take the raft and go – just the two of us!_

Sora frowned. _What had Kairi been thinking when she said that? How could they just leave Riku and Harry behind like that... Well, she did say she was just kidding but... What if she really meant it? It's just a feeling I can't seem to shake off... She really has changed..._

The petite brunette looked up from his ponderings and stared out of his window, "A storm?" he murmered to himself as he watched the dark grey clouds gather around the little island they had spent most of their childhood on and where Harry was... "Oh no! Harry!" Hurriedly, he hopped out of the window knowing his parents wouldn't let him out so late.

-

Grey sneakers clapped against the dirt path as the silver-haired teen tore down the tunnel of the secret cave, trying to put some distance between him and the small shadow creatures. He had also hoped to find the petite red-head who had left her boat at the dock – even if he didn't like her, he knew Sora would be upset if something were to happen to Kairi... and he'd do anything for Sora.

"Kairi, what are you doing?!" Riku when he spotted her at the end of the tunnel, back facing towards him, "We've got to get out of here! It's dangerous! Come on!" he cried, when she didn't seem to react to what he was saying.

The petite female slowly turned to look at the silver-haired teen, her face devoid of all emotion, "You're in my way..."

"What...?" his aquamarine eyes widening as shadows began to rise from the ground all around her.

"You're in my way," she repeated, the small shadows around her feet all turning to stare at Riku, glowing yellow eyes glistening in the darkness...

-

"Harry!" he shouted urgently as he streaked down the tunnel, "Harry, are you there? Have you seen-"

Sora slid to a stop, "Riku? Riku!" hastily, he moved forward to kneel next to his unconscious friends body, threads of darkness coiling around him. Panicking, he tried pulling the teen away but to no avail; it wouldn't let go of his best friend, "Riku?!"

_He won't wake_.

Sora turned, eyes wide as he searched for that voice, "Who are you? What have you done to Riku!"

The voiced laughed, the sound echoing around the cave, _Come, Keyblade Master..._

The small creatures, the ones he remembered from a dream he had a while ago, appeared; breaking away from the shadows and lift up from the ground. Sora grit his teeth, his grip on Riku tightening, not willing to let whatever it was to take his best friend away from him. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Suddenly, the darkness around Riku broke away in a flash, a similar flash appearing from within his hand. To Sora's surprise, there, where the light once was, was a large blade fashioned into the shape of a key.

_Keyblade... Keyblade..._

He knew what he had to do now.

Sora dart forward, smashing the blade into the small shadows and skipping away from their sharp claws. He was careful to keep the creatures away from the sleeping Riku, sending those who dared to attack into oblivion. When the creatures were finally all gone, he hefted Riku up in one arm, the keyblade in his other hand, and slowly carried the unconscious teen out of the cave.

_Damn it, Riku_, he thought with a huff,_ Why did you have to be so much bigger than me?_

Unfortunately, the conditions outside were a lot worse.

Most of the island had fallen away, leaving nothing but empty space in its wake. Uncertain of where else to go, he started heading for the small island that seemed to be still attached if only because of the old wooden bridge, batting away the Heartless with his keyblade.

As they drew near, Sora sighed with relief when he spotted a familiar figure standing in the middle of the island, "Harry!" he called out.

Dark green eyes turned to look at him and stopped him in his tracks, "Harry?"

Tiny wisps of darkness floated around the older teen, "It can help me bring them back..."

Sora bit his lip, "What can, Harry? And who?"

"It can bring my family back, Sora!" Harry said, a slightly wild look in his eyes, the darkness around him swirling faster and growing stronger.

Sora stared at him in horror, "Don't listen to it, Harry!" he cried out frantically, "It's lying! Nothing can bring them back, you told me that yourself!"

Harry stared back at him blankly.

"What would they say," Sora tried again, "If they knew you turned to the darkness to bring them back?"

Suddenly, the darkness behind Harry's eyes faded, almost returning them to their previous shade, "I... Y-you..." he stammered, "You're r-right Sora. I... I don't know what came over me..." Harry clenched his forehead with his hand, trying to will away the fog clouding his mind.

Sora sighed with relief and started moving forward towards Harry once more, Riku still unconscious in his arms but before he got there, the earth beneath them trembled and shook vigorously, almost knocking them off their feet. Two pairs of eyes looked up and quickly darted to the side as Darkside landed heavily on the small island, sending shards of earth flying through the air.

Harry ran to Sora and Riku's side, eyeing the blade sitting in the brunette's hand, "That's the keyblade isn't it?"

Sora blinked at him and nodded, "How'd you know?"

Harry shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Give me Riku. As much as I hate to let you fight alone, it doesn't change the fact the keyblade is a lot more effective than my magic and carrying Riku would definitely slow you down."

Sora nodded in agreement, handing his best friend over to Harry before steeling himself for the fight ahead. The fight turned out to be a lot easily than Sora had thought it would be. Rest assured that Harry would keep Riku from harm as they darted around the island and away from harm, Sora put his all in defeating the giant Heartless. He'd fought Darkside once before and though it was in his dreams, he knew what it's one weakness was. A soon as it's right hand slammed down onto the island, releasing small Shadows from the portal formed beneath it's palm, Sora ran forward, batting away the Shadows easily before tearing away at Darkside's arm. The Shadowballs the Heartless released every so often were frustrating as they honed in on them but both Harry and Sora were able to simply step out of the way.

Before long, Darkside gave an almighty cry as it slowly died. Unfortunately, it decided to take the island with it. With its last breath, it slammed its giant fists into the earth, the island cracking immediately under the pressure. Sora tried to make his way toward Harry and Riku but it was too late as they fell.

And as they fell into the darkness, Riku still in his arms, Harry could only think of one thing, _Not again...

* * *

_

Last Note: Woot! Chapter four done! Hope I haven't let you guys down... review loads to tell me what you think :D and yeh I noe, no Leon :( don't noe why I let that happen but oh well... he should appear next chappie lol... and yes, omg Harry/Cloudness keeps on creeping up on me darn-nabbit... -fends of the shippie with Squall's gunblade- not now dammit!! later! later!


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **anda warning of unbetaedness as usual... AND a very badly written poem -.- it'd be great if you guys just ignore it completely lol... it's not really that important... maybe I should cut it out...

**Pairings (just to clarify):** Leon/Harry, Cloud+Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (depending on whether Sephiroth is going to cooperate or not...), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/? (Yes, I'm twisting the real story for my own morbid desire) And some other random minor pairings... (+ stands for brotherly/friendship relationship... I saw it used for Gundam Wing fanfics and hopefully I used it correctly o.o)

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came.

**Note 1.** Weeee 9 reviews! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! I'm so happy -sobs- well, it's half as many reviews as last time (so I guess I must've screwed up somewhere o.o probably with the lack of Leon...) but it's still really really good for me! THANKS!!!

**Note 2.** Sorry about the long wait everyone! The middle part of the fic just wouldn't agree with me and then I finally got Chain of Memories and got caught up in play that haha...

**Note 3.** Not a longer chapter I'm afraid but it's just as long as the last chapter :) hope you guys like it!

**Note 4.** Some OOCness as I don't know the Wonderland world so well and it's been a while since I've seen the Disney version...

**Note 5.** -wonders where the hell she put Kairi...- Oh! That's right... hehe... you'll see...

* * *

**Chapter 5.**

_History was boring. To her, that was a fact. So it wasn't too surprising when the history book that her sister had insisted she read, started to slide from her fingers as the drowsiness began to take over her. She gave a wide yawn, taking care to watch her manners and covered her mouth with her hand, and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to stay awake._

_It was all in vain, however, as her eyelids began to droop and slowly but surely, she drifted off to-_

"_Excuse me."_

_Alice jumped at the sudden voice and looked up from her spot beneath the oak tree._

"_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the man said apologetically, "but I believe your sister is looking for you."_

_Alice blinked and glanced around, her sister no where in sight._

_**But she was just here...**__ she thought, a small frown on her face. Swiftly, she picked up her book with one hand and gathered up her skirt in the other before standing, "Thank you, sir. I'd better go find her immediately," with a small curtsy to the stranger, she hurried off, wondering where in the world her sister had gone and why she had left without her._

_Back at the tree, the man watched her disappear over a grassy hill and smiled._

_Too easy..._

_-_

When Harry woke, he was still falling, hand tightly gripping onto Riku's shirt subconsciously as if it were his only lifeline. He didn't know how long they'd been drifting in space but he prayed they'd stop soon. There was nothing more he hated than doing **nothing**. There was just so much more he could with this time... and it didn't help that he'd waste it on reliving old memories that should have been long forgotten.

"_I don't want to die, Potter."_

_Harry looked up at the red-head is shock._

"_I said I don't want to die," he repeated, completely uncaring about the inner turmoil he was causing the other teen, "When I was younger, I befriended you because I thought it would make me popular. Help me to stand out a bit more, Merlin's knows I've been overshadowed by my brothers my whole life. But now... While I may have gotten to like you more as a person, I know now none of that is worth it. What's the point of being popular when you're dead?"_

_Harry couldn't believe his supposed best-friend was saying this straight in his face... He opened his mouth, maybe to shout at him a little, but he couldn't; not a single sound would come out of his mouth. But then again... what could he say?_

"_I don't want to die and I know staying around you isn't going to help that any. I'm sure you can understand that; everyone who stays close to you dies and I don't want to be next. I know it may sound harsh but it's the truth... and I'm sure you'd rather have the truth than sugar-coated reasoning. In any case," he said, turning his back on Harry and started to walk away, "Don't hassle me again."_

_Harry felt so weak, eyes wide with disbelief as he dropped down onto his knees. He stared at his hands unconsciously, knowing he should have expected something like this from the red-head sooner or later and knowing that he shouldn't believe the hurtful words pouring out of his __**former**__ best friend's mouth and yet..._

_Neville Longbottom stepped up behind, kneeling down to Harry's height before wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's shoulders tightly, "Don't listen to him Harry. People don't die just because they're close to you," he comforted softly._

_Harry turned his head slightly to stare at his friend, listening to his soothing words, and could only think that Ronald Bilius Weasley was absolutely right._

A soft groan broke him from his thoughts. Harry blinked back the tears that threatened to escape and vigorously began to remind himself that that wasn't true. It wasn't his fault that the wizarding world was one filled with vindictive and ignorant bastards. It wasn't his fault he'd born with the prophecy of nightmares hanging over his head. It wasn't his fault he had been naïve enough to be manipulated and so easily to lie to. It wasn't his fault... It wasn't his fault... It wasn't his fault...

Another groan startled him and Harry slapped himself mentally, _Snap out of it Harry! Get a grip! You got over this a long time ago!_

He carefully pulled the silver-haired teen towards himself, flicking his staff to send him another cure knowing the warmth of the spell would be welcome. Harry then looked up in surprise when he realised he could actually see the walls now, a soft light from below illuminating the maroon walls littered with clocks of all different shapes and sizes, _I guess we're finally here... where ever here is._

Aquamarine eyes opened then, staring at Harry for a moment in confusion, "Who-?" he cut himself off however as he suddenly seemed to realise who Harry was, "You! Where's Sora? What have you done with him?!" he shouted, arms flailing as he roughly pushed himself away from Harry's grip, "Whoa!" he then cried, his aquamarine eyes widening in shock when he realised there wasn't anything supporting him from below.

"Merlin! Calm down!" Harry said, reaching out trying to placate the other teen and just barely missed getting smacked by a flailing arm. Riku seemed to forcefully calm himself down a bit as they slowly drifted downwards though he still had that deer-stuck-in-the-head-lights look.

Both of them said nothing until their feet finally planted back down on terra firma just seconds later.

"Where's Sora?" Riku repeated vehemently, this time with an added glare.

Harry felt like rolling his eyes but held it back when he realised it probably wouldn't go over very well, "We got separated after the battle. Do you remember what happened?"

Riku frowned, "There's was a storm so I went to the island to check on the raft. Then these... shadowy creatures came after me; none of my attacks worked so I ran for it," Harry was glad to hear that the teen picked his battles wisely and knew to retreat when necessary, "But then I remembered seeing Kairi's boat at the dock so I went to look for her. I found her in the secret place but..." Riku's frown deepened.

"But?" Harry watched the conflicting emotions in Riku's eyes curiously.

"The creatures were sitting all around her. I told her to run but she just stared at me blankly and told me I was in her way or something and... I can't seem to remember anything else after that," he said, eyebrows crinkling in confusion, "You know... I'd never seen that expression on her face... She'd always had that fake little smile plastered on her face before," Riku spat, "Stupid bitch."

Harry raised an amused eyebrow at him, "Huh... Tell me how you really feel about Kairi," drawled sarcastically.

Riku smiled sheepishly at him for moment before he remembered who he was talking to and started glaring again, "What battle?" he asked suspiciously.

"The one where you were unconscious for the whole time," Harry snapped back a little vindictively but his eyes softened when he saw the stricken look on Riku's face at the thought that his best friend had to fight alone, "But don't worry. He won and though we were separated, I'm sure he's fine. The keyblade would have guided him to safety."

"The keyblade?"

Harry sighed heavily, "Look, I'm going to be straight with you. I'm not the one you need to be worried about. What you **do **need to worry about is that the keyblade chose Sora as its master and as such, a big-ass destiny has been heaped onto his tiny shoulders. He's pretty much going to be fighting for his life and for the sake of the universe for the next couple of years and, unfortunately, there's nothing you or I can do to help him escape it. In any case, he can't do it alone and that's where we, and no doubt many others, come in. I'm going to do my bloody darn hardest to help him. Now the question is... are you?"

Riku looked back at him startled at first but then became pensive, "I'm not too sure of what's going on here exactly but... I know what you mean by what you're saying. And if it means helping Sora out... I'd give my life for him," he said decisively.

Harry stared at him, searching for something. The look was so intense it made him a little twitchy but he held the gaze nonetheless. The older teen seemed to find what he was looking for though, giving him such a sad smile it made him wonder... "Right then," Harry finally said, "Now... about what's going on... I'm not too sure myself but I can tell you what I know. But first..." Harry frowned slightly, "Do you have some sort of weapon to protect yourself?"

Riku shook his head, "My sword's gone... but it was wooden anyway so I doubt that it'd have been useful."

Harry shook his head, "No it wouldn't have. Hmm..." he thought for a moment before pulling out the wand concealed in his robes and a random pen. With a wave of his wand, he transfigured it into a small steel sword before handing it over to a flabbergasted Riku, "It's not much but it should be enough for you to protect yourself until we can get you a proper one."

"How...?"

"Magic," Harry said with a shrug, "You're going to be travelling to a lot of different worlds so I suggest you start getting use to seeing things that surprise you or that you can't explain."

Riku took the sword and nodded, a determined look on his face.

Harry smiled, "Sora's lucky to have a friend like you," he said softly.

Riku looked up at him in surprise but the older teen had already walked off. Hurriedly, he jogged to catch up.

-

Sora glanced at the strange dog in front of him and then closed his eyes again, "Crazy dream..."

The dog suddenly pounced on him, making him jump, eyes snapping open in surprise, "Not a dream!" he cried out. Gingerly, he got up and looked around at his surroundings curiously. It wasn't any place he recognised and what was worse, Harry and Riku were no where in sight. Placing his hands on his thighs, he leaned forward to look down at the dog, "Did you see the two other boys who were with me? One has silvery hair while the other's is black."

The dog merely barked at him and then ran off.

"Hey!" Sora called out, chasing after it. As soon as he got out of the alley though he froze; definitely not any place he recognised. The streets of cobbled stone were strangely deserted but he assumed it was because it was so late at night. The item shop to his left was open however, the sign shining brightly surpassing even that of the street-lamps. _Guess I'll start asking around here_, he thought, pushing the door open with his right hand.

Peeking inside, there seemed only to be a blonde haired man.

Obviously expecting a customer, the man turned around, a creepy smile on his face, "Hey there! How can I-" the man froze, frowning when he realised who had come in, "Aw, it's only a kid," he said, manners disappearing in a flash as he pulled out a large toothpick from somewhere and stuck it between his lips like a cigarette.

Sora pouted angrily at him, "I'm not a kid! And the name's Sora!"

The blonde man shrugged, "Okay, whatever. Not need to blow a socket. So anyway, why the long face? You lost or somethin'?

"No! Well... maybe," Sora begrudged, "So where are we?"

The older man looked amused and decided to humour him, "This here's Traverse Town, kid."

"I'm not a kid, gramps," Sora replied automatically, "So we're no where near Destiny Islands are we? I'm in a different world, then?"

"And I'm no one's gramps, kid," the man retorted, "The name's Cid! Anyway... not sure where the hell this Destiny Island of yours is but this place certainly ain't it."

Sora sighed, "Well maybe you can help with searching for my friends. They're both guys. One's this tall," he said, raising his hand a head above his own, "and has black hair and green-eyes while the other," he lowered his hand a little, "is this tall and has silvery hair and blue eyes. Have you seen them? We got separated on the way..." _I really hope they're okay..._

"Nope, sorry haven't seen-" Cid froze, jaw dropping so wide the stick fell out and unopposed onto the floor when he realised who that first description could fit, "W-wait... what did you say the name of the first guy was?"

Sora gave him a queer look, "I didn't," he dead-panned before turning and started heading out the door, "Thanks for your help gramps but I gotta go and look for my friends. Later," he said with a negligent wave.

"Wait!" Cid called out but it was too late, Sora was already long gone. Grumbling, he hurriedly started locking up the store. If Sora was talking about who he thinks he was talking about... Cid grinned wryly; he couldn't wait to see the look on a certain brunette's face when he heard this news.

-

"So this will make us small?" Riku questioned, peering into the small glass container curiously.

The door-knob didn't reply however as it dozed off back to sleep.

Harry grimaced. Usually he wouldn't go drinking some nondescript liquid in a bottle provided by a door-knob of all things but... "I guess we don't really have a choice," he sighed.

Riku looked up and stared at him quizzically.

Harry rolled his eyes, "You want to go look for Sora, don't you? Well, we can't exactly go back the way we came so we're going to have to find a gummi ship. And since I can't see a gummi ship here..."

"Right," Riku agreed, twisting the cap off the bottle. He took a small swig before hurriedly handing it over to Harry as he shrunk almost instantaneously, "Cool," Riku said as he stared up at Harry who was now towering over him like a skyscraper.

Harry crouched down to look at him carefully, "You okay?"

"Yeah... why wouldn't I be?"

Harry looked at him sceptically before staring at the bottle once more, "Ah, well. What the hell..." he mumbled, gulping down the last of potion. Within moments, he was Riku's height once more, jumping to the side quickly when the bottle finally ended its descent, almost crushing him in the process.

"Hey, open up!" the silver-haired teen shouted at the door but it ignored him, thunderous snores sounding through the air. He gave the wooden door a swift kick, jolting the door-knob awake.

"How rude!" it glared down at him, "Can't you see I'm sleeping?" it said, emphasizing its point with a wide yawn.

"You can go back to sleep after you let us in," Riku glared back.

_Teenagers_, Harry thought to himself with a mental eye-roll before remembering **he** was a teenager and grimaced.

"Let you in? How can I let you in when I'm locked?"

Riku sobered, _I guess that does make sense..._ "so where's the key?"

The door-knob looked up, Harry and Riku both turning their gazes to follow it. A sudden puff of smoke appeared on the table and there, as it faded away, was a bright golden key. Riku blinked and then swivelled around to glare at the door-knob once more, "Why didn't you tell us sooner? How are we supposed to get it now?!" he said, gesturing angrily at their miniature size.

The door-knob rolled its eyes at him, "You never asked," it said simply before giving one last yawn as it shut its eyes and drifted off back to sleep.

Riku spluttered.

Harry watched the teen throw verbal abuse at the door with slight amusement. From what he had heard from Sora, the silver-haired teen was normally calm and very little affected him. However, it seemed the separation from his best friend had greatly unsettled him. That, and that Sora usually caused enough raucous for the both of them.

Sighing, he gently nudged Riku aside, ignoring how the teen grew immediately silent when he pulled his wand out. It hadn't worked the last time but he might as well try it, "_Alohomora._"

To his relief however, the door gave a soft click and swung open.

However, as soon as they stepped inside, they realised something was horribly, horribly wrong.

Even the blades of **grass** were towering over them for Merlin's sake!

The two jumped at the sudden sound of thunderous thumps, jaws dropping open when they spotted a gigantic white rabbit in a red waistcoat running over towards them. Hastily, Harry pulled Riku towards himself and cast a Notice-Me-Not spell, freezing as it passed them but it seemed they didn't need to be worried about being discovered after all as the rabbit rushed off after glancing at its golden pocket watch crying loudly, "Oh, my furs and whiskers. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

"Was that...?" Riku trailed off uncertainly as he stared at the retreating figure with wide-eyes.

"Yes," Harry grimaced, "We better find some way to get back to our own sizes again before we get stomped on."

Riku blinked at him, "Can't you... you know," he said, gesturing slightly at the wand in Harry's hand.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, "Not if you want to sit around in a skin several times your size while I slowly enlarge all your insides one by one."

Riku blanched but remained silent as he pulled out the sword Harry had given him and started the arduous task of hacking away the blades of grass barring their way. An hour later and they had made little progress, the grass seeming more like a never-ending forest with every minute that passed. Harry frowned as he sliced away another one only to see many more before them. It was obviously time for another plan but what? He supposed he could attempt to fly them both out of here but he was afraid they would be snatched up by any rogue birds that may be about...

"Ahem."

Both boys jumped at the sudden intrusion into their thoughts, spinning around with their weapons raised. The sight that met them was certainly not something they expected though for there, perched upon a mushroom three times their size was a similarly large **caterpillar**. What's more it was smoking, _and getting high_, Harry thought a little disbelievingly. And here he thought nothing would ever surprise him again...

Puffs of smoke rose into the air as it blew out, forming perfectly circular rings that slowly grew before disappearing all together.

"You seem to have a... **smaaaall **problem," it drawled into Riku's face as it rested languidly on the mushroom cap. The silver-haired teen coughed, hand waving away the smoke before scowling at the giant insect.

Harry raised an eyebrow as he easily dispelled the wisps of smoke coming towards him with his magic, "Indeed," he drawled back.

"Do you know how we can get back to our own size?" Riku asked with a small frown, willing to put aside his disgust for the information.

The caterpillar merely puffed and leant back, staring up into the clear, blue sky, "Do you know," he began, "of the poem of Henry Jay Porter?"

Riku nodded, annoyed his question was ignored but curious as to where the caterpillar was going with this, "Er... it was something like:

He was so young, the mother whined

Barely older than Adeline

And yet he was hassled from the side

Forced straight to the front line

Henry Jay Porter, the father did sigh

Ever since that faithful day

Placed upon a pedestal so high

A mere babe to keep evil at bay

He was so young, the mother rasped

Barely older than my son

And yet his family had all passed

His true friends going one by one

Henry Jay Porter, the father did feel for

His remaining blood had wished him away

Then used by the one he thought a mentor

And thrown away at the end of the day

He was so young, the mother cried

Barely older than my own

And yet because of them he died

Condemned by the place he called home

Henry Jay Porter, the father did mourn

Your sufferings now have ceased

No longer will you have to bear the scorn

May you forever rest in peace.

Riku looked at his audience expectantly, "I think that's how it went?"

The caterpillar hmmed non-committally as it continued to stare up into the sky. The silver-haired teen rolled his eyes before turning to the other teen but his words froze in his throat. Harry was slightly pale, emerald-eyes covered by his raven fringe as they stared down.

"Erm... are you okay?" Riku asked him uncertainly.

Harry bit his lip and gave a soft, shuddering sigh as he composed himself, "It's... nothing. Um... where did you learn that, Riku?"

Riku blinked, "Well, I had to learn that poem for history. There's an old legend that goes along with that poem and together they made a very important lesson that our teacher insisted we all learn."

"I... see," he said softly without looking up and fell silent. _Why..._ he thought desperately, _What is this supposed to mean? Is this another piece of the puzzle? ...why won't they let me forget..._

Riku stared at Harry for his strange behaviour but shrug it off. He had more important things to worry about; he had to find Sora. "So do you know how to make us big again or not?" he asked the caterpillar, the smoke surrounding growing by the second.

The caterpillar hmmed again and Riku was this close to chopping the giant insect into little pieces when the caterpillar spoke up once more, "Right or left? Left or right? One side will make you grow while with a bite of the other, you will shrink. But which will do what you want it to do?" he said around another puff of smoke, "Left or right? Right or left?" The smoke completely covered the caterpillar, Harry and Riku both coughing. With a silent slash of his wand, Harry dispersed the smoke again but when it disappeared, the caterpillar was no where in sight.

"Hey, where did it go?" Riku frowned as he looked around.

Harry shrugged before drifting back into his thoughts. Riku looked at him weirdly but shrugged as well. Whatever it was bothering the older teen, it wasn't any of his business and if it were about Sora, then Harry would've brought up the subject himself. Instead he turned his attention to the giant mushroom. The caterpillar's instructions were simple enough; eating one side of the mushroom would make him grow while the other would make him shrink. But which one...?

He stepped forward and broke off a bit from both sides. He scrutinized both pieces, trying to see if there was a difference between the two but he could find none.

_Oh, well_, he thought, _it doesn't really matter. If I shrink again, I'd just have to quickly eat the other one before I get too small_. And with that thought, he bit into the piece from the left side.

At first, nothing had happened. There was a slight tingling in his body but nothing else. Figuring he hadn't eaten enough, he took another bite and sure enough something happened... something that he had certainly not expected to happen.

His neck seemed to suddenly shoot from his shoulders, growing at an exponential rate and before long, he'd had a neck so long it'd make a giraffe jealous, "Whoa!" he cried out in surprise.

At this point, Harry had turned round to see what he was doing and immediately burst out in laughter.

Riku tried to glare at him but it was a bit hard when your head was swinging around in the air because there was nothing to support his elongated neck. In fact, he was getting a bit dizzy...

The dizziness suddenly stopped and Riku realised it was because Harry had gotten a hold of his wayward head, "Say ah," he said mockingly with a wide grin on his face but Riku ignored it in favour of doing as he was told. He could scowl at Harry later when he was himself again...

Harry dropped a bit of the right side of the mushroom into the silver-haired teens mouth. The effect was once again immediate though this time his neck shrunk. However, it also made Riku's legs shrink.

Harry snorted as he watched the teen waddle awkwardly towards the mushroom, _This is going to take a while..._

-

He grunted when a finger started poking him repeatedly on the side of his head. He batted it away irritably with his right hand and pouted when it still wouldn't stop.

"Quit it Riku!" Sora said, sitting up in a flash, glaring at the offending poker.

"Riku? Who the heck are you talking about?" the raven-haired girl looked at him quizzically.

Sora blinked and suddenly, all his memories started rushing back into his mind. The island... the shadows... Riku... Harry... coming to this strange world and then being attacked by that complete stranger, "Who are you?!" he blurted out when he realised with a start that he didn't recognise this girl either.

"Me?" the girl said with a toothy grin, "I'm the great-"

"Yuffie!" a blonde-haired man burst into the room, "There's this boy who..." Cid paused when he finally saw Sora sitting on the bed, "Oh, you already found him," he grunted, still chewing on the stick.

"Yep!" Yuffie replied happily, "You really need to keep up with the news around here, old man."

"I'm not effing old!" Cid exclaimed before settling into a scowl, "Well, I bet you didn't know that the kid saw Harry."

Yuffie froze then squealed loudly, almost rupturing the eardrums of both Sora and Cid, "Did you say Harry? What 'til Squally-bear hears about this! He's been moping ever since he left."

"Don't call me that. It's Leon," the brunette grumbled as he entered the room, "And wait 'til I hear what?" he asked the hyper ninja warily.

"Sora saw Harry!"

Sora gasped in sudden recognition, pointing an accusing finger at Leon, "You're Harry's boyfriend!"

Yuffie burst into giggles while Leon glared at her before turning to Sora, "Sora... so you're the one he meets in his dreams? How is he? And why isn't he with you?"

Sora merely nodded as he stared at him pensively and after a moment the smile on his face turned into a slightly vindictive one, "You know, you were mean to me..." Pause. "I'm gonna tell Harry."

Leon blanched.

-

"This is all your fault!" Riku snapped as he hastily jumped out of the way of a fire spell.

Harry rolled his eyes and flung out another ice spell. For the past hour, the silver-teen had been quite moody, blaming each and every problem on the taller teen. Right now, they had been accosted by a group of Heartless that out-numbered them by six to one.

A Large Body bounded over towards them then but they were quick to leap out of its way, coming up behind it to tear away at its only weakness. The creature spun and shook its fists angrily at them and seeing it preparing itself for its strongest attack, Harry immediately moved away. However, Riku didn't heed the warning instead charging forwards, intending to leap right over it. Things didn't go as plan when the Large Body jumped up before he could, its body then slamming back down onto the ground.

Riku cried out in shock as the ground shook below him and an invisible force slammed into him, knocking him back and straight towards the tree behind. To Harry's growing horror, the trunk of the tree opened up wide and swallowed the teen whole before closing up completely.

"Damn it!" he shouted, dashing forward, a spell already on the tip of his tongue but before he could do anything, something hooked onto the back of his robes and lifted him up into the air, "Ack!"

Startled, Harry flailed around for a bit in confusion but the Heartless wouldn't release him. Finally, he regained his senses and aimed his wand at the Heartless holding him up, "Blizzard!"

The Heartless squealed and evaporated and Harry began his descent towards the ground. Quickly, he bit out another spell before he contacted the ground painfully. The cushioning spell may have softened his landing but unfortunately he'd been a lot higher up than he had thought he was. For a moment, he just lay there, body aching slightly and breathing heavily. With the amount of magic he'd been using and the fact he hadn't eaten since he'd left Disney Castle...

"Well well, fancy meeting you here."

Harry's head snapped to the left, eyes narrowing immediately when they recognised who the speaker was, "What do you want?" he snarled, hand tightening around his wand.

"Now now, is that how you speak to someone who gives you the chance to bring back your loved ones?" the man chided lightly, "Strange how you seemed almost civil only yesterday," he added as he leaned over Harry's tired body, his long sakura locks brushing against Harry's forehead.

Harry scowled, eyes darkening, "Well, I've obviously come to my senses. I won't do what you say... even if it's a chance to bring them back."

"Funny," the man breathed lightly onto Harry's face, the raven-haired teen tensing when a hand brushed across his cheek, "You're eyes seem to disagree..."

-

The silver-haired braced himself for the inevitable impact against the tree. So it was to his surprise when that impact never came and instead he fell through, the only passage to the outside and to Harry closing up as soon as he passed through. Riku winced when he hit the floor, his body sliding across the smooth tiles. Gingerly, he raised himself up on his elbows and glanced around at his new surroundings.

_And just when I thought this world couldn't get any weirder..._ he thought warily, _I get swallowed by a __**tree**__ and end up this place..._

The corridor he sat in was dark yet he could see all that lined the walls. Square windows ran along the walls, each complete with its own box of plants. It would have seem quite normal actually... if it weren't for the fact, the glass was entirely greyed out and the plants were mere cardboard cut-outs. Vaguely, he wondered where the little bit of light was coming from but put it down as another quirk of this world. At one end of the corridor was a door not to dissimilar from the one with the talking door-knob while the other end stretched into the shadows.

Seeing no other way, and not willing to face whatever might be in the shadows, he stood and made his way over to the door. It wasn't as far away as he had thought it was; instead, to his annoyance, he realised it was the shrinking of the hall that created that effect. By the time he had reached the door, he was quite cramped in the small amount of space and the door barely larger than his hand. Careful not to break the minuscule door-knob, he opened it. Peering inside, he could see a garden. One, he hoped, was the same one as before.

As much as he hated to believe it, he knew he had to find Harry because the older teen was the only one who knew what he was doing and would be able to reunite them with Sora. He should probably also apologise. He hadn't meant to accuse him but unfortunately, Riku tended to snap at people whenever he believed Sora to be in any sort of trouble.

Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out some of the mushroom he had kept just in case. Eating a little bit, he began to shrink, careful to stop when he'd reached the right size. Stuffing the rest of it back into his pocket, he stepped through the door into the garden.

"What're you doing here?"

Riku jumped and swivelled around in surprise. The door was no where in sight. Neither was any tree of any sort. Instead, he was staring at the rest of the garden (_a rose garden_, he added absent-mindedly) and what's more, a **giant playing card was talking to him**.

"Well?" the card asked again, his foot tapping impatiently.

_Oh, nothing much_, Riku thought sarcastically, _I just got attacked by a bunch of shadows that try to steal your heart, then I got swallowed up by a tree that isn't really there and now I'm standing in front of a walking, talking card, that's all_... But decided that the card probably wouldn't appreciate that last comment so instead, "I could ask you the same thing," he retorted, "Why are you painting those white roses red?" gesturing to the three other cards behind the one talking to him laden with red paint cans and haphazardly slopping the paint onto the white roses.

The card coughed in embarrassment, "We accidentally planted those white roses but the Queen doesn't like white roses, see? So we have to paint them red... But don't tell anyone I said that!" he added at the hastily, giving Riku what he supposed was an intimidating look. However, being a talking card kind of ruined that in Riku's opinion...

"Sure, whatever," Riku shrugged, "Actually, I'm looking for someone. Two people actually," he added as an afterthought when he realised they might not have been separated so far apart, "One's a short male brunette called Sora while the other is a slightly taller male, has black hair and is called Harry. Have you seen them?"

"Nope, sorry. Haven't seen anyone like that around here."

"Oh," Riku deflated slightly. Now, what was he supposed to do? Sit here and wait for Harry to find him?

The card gave him a look of pity, "Well, if you stick around, maybe you could petition the Queen. I don't know whether she'd agree but-"

Loud heralding trumpets sounded, making the card look up in surprise and horror, "The Queen! The Queen!"

"The Queen?" Riku echoed.

"The Queen!" the rest of the cards cried as they packed away the paint and their ladders before jumping into a straight line. Riku stepped in line with them after deciding there was little else he could do. He watched as more cards trickled in, each armed with a spear.

The giant white rabbit from before, now no higher than his knee, bounced in a little breathlessly and with a small trumpet in one hand, "H... H... Her Imperial Highness, H... Her Grace, Her Excellency, Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Hearts!" he shouted, giving his trumpet a loud blow, "and the King," he added in a much softer voice.

It was then a large woman, who Riku assumed was the Queen, dressed in a chequered red and black dress strode in followed by a tiny man only half her height. Her eyes turned to her precious red roses and immediately turned red with fury. Following her gaze, Riku could see why; one of the roses was still half-white while the other half dripped with wet, red paint.

"Who's been painting my roses red?" the Queen said ominously, "Who's been painting my roses red? Who dares to taint, with vulgar paint, the royal flower bed? For painting my roses red, someone will lose his head!" she finished with a roar.

The three of spades immediately broke under her glare, "Oh, no, your Majesty!" he sobbed, "Please, it's all his fault!" he pointed to the two of clubs.

The two gasped, "What? No! Not me, your Grace! The Ace, the Ace!" he said frantically.

"You?" the Queen glared at the Ace of diamonds.

"No, Two!"

"The Deuce, you say?"

"Not me! The Three!"

The Queen growled, "That's enough!" she shouted, silencing their nattering immediately, "Off will all of their heads!"

Riku gaped, _They're going to lose their heads just because they painted the roses red?_ To his rising horror, the cards grabbed **him** as well!

"They're going to lose their heads," the rest of the cards said to each other sadly, "for painting the roses red. It serves them right, they planted white, the roses should be red. Oh, they're going to lose their head..."

"Silence!" the Queen shouted once more, gesturing for the original cards and Riku to be taken away. Riku opened his mouth to protest but someone else beat him to it.

"Wait!" a raven-haired teen burst into the garden. _Harry_, Riku thought with relief.

"They made a mistake but that doesn't mean they should have their heads cut off," Harry said, "There must be some-"

"And who is this?" the Queen interrupted him, staring at him weirdly.

"Er... well, well, well now, eh... let me see my dear," the King said, adjusting his glasses nervously, "It certainly isn't a heart... do you suppose it's a club?"

"Why, it's a little boy," the Queen said with wonder, all trances of anger disappearing and replaced with a wide smile that creeped both teenage boys out.

"I'm not really little but yes, I'm-" Harry froze when a hand reached out and started to squeeze his cheek.

"And isn't he handsome," the Queen cooed at him.

Harry stared at her incredulously, hand rubbing his abused cheek and ignored Riku's muffled snickering in the background. Squeezing his cheek? Calling him handsome?!** What the hell?!**

"Hmm... Do you play croquet?" the Queen asked coyly, batting her eyelashes at him. Harry felt like puking.

"Well I don't but er... I suppose I do know how to..."

"Splendid!" the Queen cried, clapping her hands joyfully, "then let us have a little bet. If I win, you will stay here with me. Forever."

Harry grimaced, "And if I win?"

"I won't chop of their heads," she replied with a shrug, obviously certain in her victory.

Harry nodded grimly but the Queen ignored it in favour of exclaiming happily, "Then let the games begin!"

"In your places, in your places!" the King shouted, "By order of the King! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Shuffle deck! Cards cut! Deal cards!" the Queen shouted as the cards hurriedly rushed into their places, bodies arched as they formed the semi-circular rings Riku recognised from the what Sora had termed 'an old peoples sport'.

Harry raised an eyebrow when, instead of a mallet, he was handed a bright pink flamingo. The Queen, obviously deciding to go first, wiggled her backside at Harry seductively and threw him a wink before poising herself to hit the hedgehog posing as the ball. Harry wondered if it would be okay to _crucio_ her.

With a wide swing that had the hedgehog hurrying off before it even hit him, it rolled forward at a great speed, winding around and beneath the cards, helped along by the fact the cards were quick to form a straight line for the hedgehog to roll under. Riku blanched at the blatant cheating, feeling a little sick when one of the cards failed to join the line in time, the Queen immediately shouting "Off with its head!" If Harry lost, he was going to lose his head...

He turned to look at Harry helplessly but the teen was calm and smiled back at him. Riku relaxed slightly when he realised the older teen must have some more tricks up his sleeve.

"You're next!" the Queen smiled with another flutter of her eyelashes.

Harry twitched at that look but stepped forward nonetheless. Looking down, he cast a silent _Locomotor_, on the hedgehog before steeling himself, he raised the flamingo hit the hedgehog... only for it to wilt in his grip.

The Queen of Hearts giggled at his limp flamingo but Harry resisted the urge to glare at her, instead he whispered a quiet, "_Locomotor Mortis_." The flamingo squawked as it was forced into ramrod position. He raised the 'pink mallet' up once more and gave the hedgehog a solid smack. The hedgehog squealed and immediately began to swerve away from the cards who were also trying to move away from the makeshift ball but Harry would have none of that. Concentrating on his spell, everyone gasped in surprise as the small brown animal rose a few centimetres off the ground. The hedgehog uncurled in surprise and suddenly zipped off towards the cards.

The cards had no time to react; before they could jump away the hedgehog whizzed under each and every one of them which meant, to their mortification, Harry had beaten the Queen by one point.

"You..." the Queen stared at him incredulously, her face growing redder by the second, "You... You cheated!" she shrieked, waving her flamingo angrily at him, "Off with his head!"

"Wait!" cried another familiar voice.

Harry and Riku looked up in surprise, "Sora!"

Sora grinned cheekily at them, "Yo, miss me?"

Harry's eyes widened as he caught sight of the other brunette behind him, "Squall?"

Brown eyes stared into emerald eyes, "Harry," he breathed in relief.

-

"All you need to do... is kill Hercules. It's that simple."

Blue eyes stared at him. Hades pulled at his collar, a little unnerved though he'd never admit it.

"Fine," the blonde finally answered.

"Great!" the God of the Underworld said, a glowing piece of parchment appearing in front of him, "Just sign on the dotted line and I'd be on my way..." Beady eyes watched greedily as the blonde signed without hesitation, snatching the contract up immediately when he was done and disappeared into the darkness.

Cloud stared off into the distance, the Coliseum glimmering under the bright sun light, _Harry...

* * *

_


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover**

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **(in the shounen-ai sense and not the yaoi sense... I really don't noe how to write it...) anda warning of unbetaedness as usual... (actually more than usual cause I'm not bothered to check it even once at the moment...)

**Pairings (just to clarify):** Leon/Harry, Cloud+Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (depending on whether Sephiroth is going to cooperate or not...), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/? (Yes, I'm twisting the real story for my own morbid desire) And some other random minor pairings... (+ stands for brotherly/friendship relationship... I saw it used for Gundam Wing fanfics and hopefully I used it correctly o.o) one of which is going to be Irivne/Aerith o.o bet u didn't see that coming! (u noe I used to hate Aerith... probably because she was crap at fighting and u'd spend so long training her and then she'd die... I like Tifa waaaay better in that sense...) Oh and maybe Cid/Yuffie if I really feel twisted... okay maybe not, that looks a little weird (just a little :P)

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came.

**Note 1.** wooooooooo!! reviews!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH:DDD haha im such a review whore...

**Note 2.** I can't write good romance scenes... I can't write good fighting scenes... I can't write good filler scenes... I can't write good anything scenes!!! -angst angst- oh and I can't write good angst... I also need a larger vocab... -kicks the crappy synonyms program- new chapter here anyway... hope you like it... I can't wait til I write the CoM chapters... (p.s. Yes, I'm not happy with this chapter...)

**Note 3.** Donald and Goofy have become little more than background furniture... oops...

**Note 4. **Quite a bit of time-jumping around here too... and sorry if parts of it don't seem to flow very well – I wrote some parts waaaaay earlier than others... I might have to rewrite it... hmm...

* * *

**Chapter 6.**

"No!" Donald squawked loudly, "He can't come!"

"What?!" Sora protested.

"Forget it!"

"But he's my friend!"

"I don't care!"

"Um... shucks, guys..." Goofy tried to interrupt but the two quarrellers ignored him completely. It had started innocently enough, Sora telling Riku about all that's happened and how they could finally explore the other worlds together. Donald, however, would not allow it.

Riku supposed he should feel angry at the raging duck for trying to separate him from his best friend. He couldn't bring himself to care though; not when Sora was raging up another storm just as big on his behalf.

"Well then you can go and find your stupid King by yourselves! I won't go anywhere without Riku!"

"Whaaaaat!!!"

Riku had to turn around lest they saw the smug grin that broke out on his face.

"They still arguing?"

Riku hurriedly schooled his expression before he turned to look at the brunette who just walked in, frown on his face, "Yeah."

Leon, a.k.a. Squall (or should it be the other way around? o.o;;), scowled ferociously and stormed over to the loud duet who hadn't noticed his entrance. In one swift move, he grabbed them both by their collar, turned them towards himself and growled menacingly. To Riku's immense amusement, he heard equal squeaks of terror from Sora and Donald and then a sudden silence.

"Harry's asleep," Leon's voice was soft but his eyes told a completely different story, "If you wake him..." he trailed off threateningly, certain their over-imaginative minds would conjure images of torture of their darkest fears for him.

Sora and Donald's eyes widened in fear, nodding vigorously to show their good-will. Seeing this, Leon dropped them roughly back into their chairs, "Take us to Traverse Town," cold brown eyes narrowed, "Now."

Sora eeped and Donald turned to him, laughing nervously, "Why don't you pilot, Sora. Ha, ha... haaah..." and then gulped when Leon continued to glare at him. Sora fumbled with the controls a bit in his haste but soon they began accelerating towards Traverse Town.

With a loud "Hmph," Leon spun around and stalked out of the cockpit, passing the silently cackling Riku. He made his way to the small, make-shift infirmary where he had left his exhausted boyfriend. As silently as he could, he stepped inside only to find Harry staring up at him, blinking owlishly. Leon sighed as he sat next to the raven-haired teen, "Did they wake you?" he asked softly.

Harry shook his head, wrapping his arms loosely around Leon as he rested his forehead on the taller teens chest, "You were gone..." he replied just as softly.

Leon immediately raised his arms to wrap around Harry as well, drawing the small teen closer, breathing in that familiar, sweet smell that he'd missed so much. For the next few minutes, they just sat there, relishing in the close contact they couldn't have before, the close contact they didn't get a chance to revel in before they were separated.

"Tell me about Traverse Town," Harry mumbled.

"...Well, it's small town with its own bell tower. There are three districts, two of which are pretty much abandoned because of the Heartless. And the first..." Leon paused, uncertain as how he approach the subject.

"The first?" Harry looked up at him questionably.

Leon sighed mentally, knowing he'd have to tell him eventually, "Is where all the survivors end up."

"Survivors?" Harry perked up hopefully.

Leon smiled at him sadly and nodded, "Yes. There... aren't many of us left but... Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, Tifa and a few others you wouldn't recognise managed to escape after the Heartless overwhelmed the castle. ...Oh and Irvine," he added with a grimace.

Harry snorted and flicked him on the forehead. To his amusement, the brunette mock-scowled at him and flicked him back.

"I'm so glad you're all okay," Harry's smile faltered a little though when he realised something... "Squall... What about Cloud and Ansem?"

Leon breathed in sharply at this but didn't answer. He didn't need to; his silence gave it all away.

"Oh..." Harry mumbled softly, burying his head back into Leon's chest, the older man looking down at him in worry.

"Harry?" Leon had never been one good at comforting others...

"You know," Harry began softly, voice thick with emotion, "I saw Cloud that day."

Leon blinked in confusion.

"You know... the day Radiant Garden was..." Harry paused. He'd lost another home to the darkness... "I came... I wanted to help..."

Leon blinked again; that was new information. But he didn't interrupt, no matter how much he wanted to. Harry had something he needed to say.

"He's going to be okay," Harry suddenly blurted out, biting back a sob, "He **is **okay. ...They're both okay."

Leon stayed silent.

-

"Harry!" the hyper ninja squealed, glomping the raven-haired teen as soon as he stepped out of the Gummi Ship.

"Yuffie!" Harry laughed, hugging her back, "It's good to see you. All of you," he added, smiling brightly as the rest of the gang finally caught up.

"Harry!" Aerith called out happily as well as she hugged him though in a slightly more subdued manner, "How have you been?"

"Never better," he chirped, "Seeing that you're all okay. I missed you."

Aerith smiled, "We missed you too, Squall in particular," giving the blushing male brunette a sly grin, "But I'll give you all the details later."

"What details?" Irvine added with a laugh, stepping up beside her, "All he's been doing is moping around wishing the squirt was here!" he said with a playful wink as he slung his arm over Harry's shoulders.

Leon immediately pulled Harry out of the cowboy's grip and glared at him. Irvine just grinned back at him, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Yeah, it's good to see you kid," Cid cut in gruffly from the side before Leon started to show his displeasure with more than a glare. The stick, to Sora's amusement and slight disgust, was still between his lips, _What's up with that?_ He wondered.

"Don't let that old man's tone fool you!" Yuffie piped up, "He'd missed you just as much as Squall has. He'd even given up his smoking until we found you!"

Cid scowled and swiped angrily at her but Yuffie easily darted away with a toothy grin on her face.

Harry's eyes widened with disbelief, finally noticing the stick instead of the cigarettes he'd remembered constantly complaining about, "You've stopped smoking?!" Pause. "By choice?!" Harry gaped, "Miracles do happen..."

-

"And this is the third district," Sora introduced.

Riku nodded, smiling in amusement at the almost proud tone of voice. It sounded like as if the brunette was introducing to his best friend the new dream house he had just purchased.

"You know we defeated this really big Heartless here!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded happily, "It was like as tall as this building and was made of this armoury-stuff and-"

"Sora! Riku!" a familiar voice called out behind them.

The two teens spun round in surprise, "Kairi!" Sora cried out happily while Riku plastered a smile on his face though it was a little strained. He was glad she was okay, if only for Sora's sake but...

"Kairi! Is that really you?" Sora ambled over to the red-head, a wide grin on his face. Riku remained where he was.

Kairi giggled, "Yes, it's me silly. I'm glad I finally found you. Both of you," she said, sparing the silver-haired teen a brief glance before ignoring him altogether, "So what's going on?"

"Well-" Sora started but didn't get a chance to finish.

"Sora, it's time to go," Donald said as he walked in, Goofy following close behind.

"Right," the brunette nodded to him before turning back to Kairi, "We got to go now, Kairi. I'll explain on the way. You're coming with us, right?"

"What?!" Donald protested, "Not another one!"

Sora scowled at him, "Kairi's my friend too. And if Riku can come, why can't Kairi? There's plenty of room."

Donald spluttered.

"Actually, Donald's right."

Both duck and human stared at the silver-haired teen who spoke in surprise; they had expected him to agree with Sora...

"What? Riku..."

"Sora, Kairi's never fought like we have. She won't be able to defend herself. She'd be safer if she stayed here," Riku said logically though, privately, he just wanted to keep her away from the brunette.

Sora bit his lip, unable to argue with that logic. With a sigh, he turned to Kairi to apologise only to find her long gone, "Kairi? Where'd she go? Nice going guys," he said, frowning at all three of them.

Riku really didn't like seeing a frown on Sora's face, especially when it was directed at him, "It's for the best, Sora. At least we don't have to worry about her being in danger right? Anyway, we better get going..."

Sora sighed and nodded, "You're right, I guess. Let's go!" he finished firmly, cheeky grin back on his face.

Riku grinned back in relief and ran off, "Race you to the Gummi Ship!" he called out behind him.

"Hey! No fair!" Sora laughed, racing after him.

On a near-by roof-top, icy blue eyes watched them, the burning hate growing ever so steadily behind them as she recalled the days when she was part of that.

"You see?" Maleficent pointed out beside her, "It's just as I told you. He's long forgotten you, all because of that other boy who he, evidently, values far more than he does you. You can get him back though... just come with me and you'd see. I'll help you find what you're looking for..."

Kairi said nothing as she watched the Sora and Riku disappear into the first district.

_You're in my way..._

-

Harry looked out from above the gizmo shop, staring out into the night sky. He was supposed to be in bed resting but the thoughts whirling around in his head wouldn't leave him be. Time was running out and he had to decide soon lest he get too attached...

He raised his hand and gently tugged the chain from beneath his collar, a small dark jewel slipping out with it. Harry stared into its depths, strangely enraptured by the swirling shadows just beneath the surface, glowing dully beneath the soft moonlight.

"_Here," he said, as a cold something was laid around his neck making Harry jump in surprise, "No need to be afraid," the man added softly but it did nothing to comfort him, "Just a little helping hand, so to speak."_

"_Oh?" Harry his head sidewards, eyebrow raised above his emerald eyes as they stared into cold, sapphire ones, "And who says I'll need any help?" he retorted as he absent-mindedly fiddled with the crystal in his hand._

_A tiny smirk flitted across the man's face, "Oh, of course. It's merely a precaution," he nonchalantly waved his hand, "You know, just in case you do, you need only to reach into its depths and pull. Now," the sakura-haired man suddenly clapped his hands, a shadow portal appearing beside him, "I believe it is time for you to go."_

_Harry stared at him incredulously; did he really expect to him to walk into some dodgy-looking shadow portal?_

_The man merely smiled, "You have nothing to fear from me," he said softly as he brushed his hand across Harry's cheek once. The smile turned into a wry one when Harry immediately batted his hand away and took a step back, "This portal merely leads you to you're little silver-haired friend. Seeing as he's in quite the mess at the moment, I thought you would appreciate the... short-cut."_

_Harry resisted the urge to snarl at the man; knowing it was probably his doing that led Riku to trouble. Instead, he turned swiftly and stepped through the portal without a single word._

_The words, "I'll be waiting for you," that followed him sent shivers down his spine._

"Harry?" a voice called softly, startling him from his thoughts. Hastily, he thrust the necklace back into his shirt when he realised it was Squall. ...Or was it Leon now?

Harry tilted his head and looked up at him expectantly, for some reason believing the older man could read his every thought. He only got a raised eyebrow for his trouble as the man settled him beside Harry, wrapping a large coat around Harry's shoulders. The raven-haired suddenly realised how cold it was and accepted it with a grateful smile, wrapping it around himself tighter, "Donald... he called you Leon," he replied simply.

Leon shifted slightly, "I couldn't save Radiant Garden. I couldn't stop the Heartless from taking it. I couldn't save everyone," _I couldn't save you_, the last part was left unspoken but Harry heard it loud and clear. The look on Leon's face was a pained one.

"So you decided that you weren't worthy of your own name and won't answer to it until you get our home back?" Harry dead-panned.

Leon flushed; for some reason, it sounded a lot more ridiculous when it came from Harry's mouth.

"You're only one man, Squall," Harry said softly, "a remarkable man, yes," he added with a tiny blush, Squall turning away slightly to hide a small blush of his own, "but one man none-the-less. It's not your fault," he then said a little sadly; all the times Neville had told him this flashed through his mind.

Reaching out, he grasped Squall's cold hand in his, slowly rubbing them warm, "We'll get Radiant Garden back. I have faith in you."

Squall smiled at him and then added with dry amusement, "You know... I came out here to comfort you."

"I'm fine," Harry protested automatically. He knew Squall didn't believe him though; his protest had been half-hearted at best. But the brunette decided to humour him for which Harry was eternally glad; after all... how could he possibly explain?

Instead, he clung tightly to the brunette, wishing for the life he could and would never have.

-

"_&&X. Friends there," Tarzan said, "See friends."_

"_Oh, I get it now," Jane piped up, "&&X means heart. Friends in our hearts. And that no matter how far apart we may be from our friends, we will always be together in our hearts."_

"_You see, Riku?" Sora grinned, nudging his best friend lightly with his elbow, "There's nothing to be worried about. Even if we do get separated, we'll always be together in our hearts!"_

_Riku couldn't help but smile back however... he still couldn't shake off the feeling something really bad was going to happen; something that'll take Sora away from him. And while what Tarzan had said was true..._

_Sometimes, it just wasn't enough._

Jafar sneered down at them at he stared into watching glass. _How revolting_, he thought with disgust, _all of them weak-minded street rats by the looks of it and yet... _"The boy. He found one of the keyholes."

"Indeed," Maleficent's lip curled with similar disgust as she stepped up to the glass, "However, fear not. It will take him ages to find the rest. But," she paused to glare at all the occupants of the room, "that does not mean any more time is to be wasted!" she snapped, "Why have no more of the princesses been captured?!"

"The **heroes**," the Captain snarled, tapping the table irritably with his metal hook, "have been more resourceful than we have given them credit for. The Heartless are having trouble completing the tasks we have set them."

"I see," Maleficent's eyes narrowed.

"What of the girl?" Jafar asked her, "Perhaps, she may the key?"

"Hah!" the witch laughed derisively, "she's even weaker than I had thought. Only just barely is she capable of keeping the lower Heartless under her command. If only I had a chance to speak with that silver-haired boy... his power and his potential..." she frowned, "but now is not the time to talk of the past. The girl is weak but she does have other uses."

"Oh?"

"Yes," she grinned maliciously, "for you see, beyond being one of the Princesses of Heart, she also harbours a substantial hold over **another** heart."

"Of course!" Jafar gasped, "The boy with the keyblade!"

Meanwhile, as they watched Sora and his friends, they too were being watched. The darkly cloaked figure, languidly twisted strands of his long sakura locks around his finger as he stared into his watching glass, a small yet strangely eerie smile on his face.

_Too easy._

-

"Where's Harry?" Aerith asked the cowboy as she stepped into the red room. The man in question was sitting sideways on one of the armchairs, legs slung over the right armrest as he poured over his book. He also completely ignored her.

Aerith huffed in annoyance and stalked over, snatching the thin volume straight from his hands. The bright orange cover and the words _Icha Icha Paradise_ glared back at her.

"Huh?" Irvine said, looking up at her in surprise, "Hey! Give that back!" he shouted, already reaching out towards Aerith but she merely stepped back out of his reach. Irvine pouted.

Aerith rolled her eyes, "Have you seen Harry?" she repeated.

"Nope," he replied, eyes remaining trained on the book in Aerith's hand. _Was it worth getting up to get it back...? _"But that's no reason to be worried. He's probably with Squall getting 'reacquainted' shall we say." ..._Absolutely_. Irvine stood up and moved towards Aerith, eyes still staring at the little orange book.

Aerith merely switch the book to her other hand behind her back when Irvine's hand darted out to grab it and frowned, "No he isn't. Squall's training down in the sewers with Yuffie and he told me Harry said he was coming to find you since he was still too tired to fight."

Irvine finally looked up, an eyebrow raised, "And he let Harry go by himself?" he asked with a little disbelief.

Aerith smiled slightly, "Well, apparently, Harry demonstrated to Squall **exactly **how well he could take care of himself."

Irvine snickered, various images of how that would have played out passing through his mind, "I'm surprised that that hadn't happened sooner. Harry never did like to be mollycoddled and well..." the cowboy snorted and then made another attempt at the book. To his chagrin, he missed again. Irvine sighed and looked back up at her, "So what's the problem then?"

Aerith's smile dimmed, "He may be able to take of himself against the Heartless but..." she paused, uncertain on how to phrase it, "I'm just worried about him."

"What makes you think something is wrong?" he asked after a moment's contemplation.

"Well, for one, he's been very quiet and withdrawn," at Irvine's raised eyebrow she elaborated, "More so than usual. He tiring after doing things he had no trouble with back home. And Squall-"

"Squall's been frowning a lot more than usual as well," he finished for her with a solemn nod.

Aerith looked at him in surprise, "If you knew, then why didn't you...?"

"I didn't realise until recently anyway and if it were really serious, I knew you would bring it up being the head mother-hen honcho," at Aerith's exaggerated sigh, he added with a cheeky grin, "Plus, I wasn't sure considering Squall frowns at me more than others anyway. Aha!" he exclaimed when he finally caught her unaware and managed to get his book back. He hopped away, putting some distance between then before flipping it open again eagerly.

Aerith snorted, "Well if you stop flirting with Harry..." she sighed while knowing it was a lost cause. Irvine just had way too fun messing with Squall, "In any case... what to do?" she wondered, gazing at the cowboy with a curious glance. Irvine however, was too busy giggling over what he had just read to pay her any heed.

He did pay attention though when the brown leather boot of a certain pink-clad girl stomped on his foot though.

"Ow!" Irvine screamed, book dropping to the floor as he cradled his aching foot in both his hands, "What was that for?!"

"Pay attention!" Aerith retorted sharply, eyes glinting in a very scary way. Irvine immediately paled at the look, gulping nervously as he nodded and obediently kicked the orange book away.

Aerith smiled sweetly, "Better."

_-_

_**Gong.**_

_It was completely silent._

_No longer were there birds singing in the trees. No longer were there children playing in the fields. No longer were teachers bustling their students to and fro._

_Harry stared blankly at the place he had once called home. A sudden crack and then, right before his eyes, the last turret crumbled and crashed in pieces onto the ground. The blood-stained ground. The body strewn ground. Dead ground._

_The silence was back again, though, he realised, it wasn't as complete a silence as he had thought it was. No, in the absence of anything else, the fire engulfing the once lush forest sent soft sounds of crackling in the air._

_It was strangely soothing._

_A soft crunch to his left made his look up again. He hadn't realised he had looked down in the first place but it made sense. His eyes met many cold unseeing stares. So many had died this day and once again, here he still was. Alive._

_Or at least, in a physical sense._

_An old, wrinkly hand rested on his back, it's owner familiar to him yet he didn't care. What was one alive among many dead? He'd won yet failed so many._

_So maybe, he hadn't won?_

"_Harry," the familiar old man said softly, "You've completed the prophecy. I'm so proud of you."_

_Lies._

"_However... you do realise what this means, don't you?"_

_Broken promises._

"_I cannot, in good faith, allow the chance for another to rise in his place Harry."_

_Betrayal._

"_I'm sorry."_

_Where..._

"_Minister," the old man called out to another man approaching them, "Take him away."_

_...Is my happy ending?_

_**Gong**_

Harry woke up with a start, immediately rolling away when a Heartless whizzed towards him, sweeping through the air where Harry's head had been only moment's earlier. He cursed slightly as a burst of fire flew towards him, slightly burning his shoulder when he failed to move away fast enough, "_Blizzara_!" he shouted, a couple of the fire-based Heartless bursting apart when the spell hit them.

_Damn it! I don't have time for this!_ He thought though whether he was thinking about the Heartless or the memories that wouldn't leave alone, even he was uncertain. Angrily, he wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape onto his cheeks. He then turned his wand toward the Large Body ambling its way over toward him.

"_Sectumsempra_," Harry shouted again. He watched as the dark purple burst out from his wand, striking the last Heartless and tearing it into two. It disappeared with a flash, a small but bright pink heart escaping from its once prison.

_I should stop doing that_, he thought numbly, _But I suppose it is inevitable. Sora's unlocking more hearts even now and helping __**him**__ unknowingly..._ _I need to tell Sora and yet... _Harry sighed as he stared up into the cloudy sky, _Could I really not take this chance to get them back? But then..._

"Oh, Merlin," he moaned softly, sinking down into a foetal position against the side of the pillar. One leg dangled dangerously over the side of the building as blank emerald eyes stared out from the above the gizmo shop. His thoughts when round and round in his head without pause and never reaching a decision.

_If only there were some way to..._

"Harry!"

Emerald eyes blinked before he turned around, plastering a smile on his face, "Sora! You're back! How did it go?" he tried to sound happy, not wishing to rain on Sora's obviously good mood, but it came out strained.

The brunette noticed though, faltering slightly before exclaiming with gusto, a wide grin in place with hopes to cheer Harry up, "Great! You should've come with us!" Sora ignored Donald's squawk of disagreement, "I'd never seen so many trees clumped together in my entire life and they were like... HUGE! And-"

"Is this the place?" Riku cut brusquely in as he examined the wooden boards nailed across the doorway behind where Harry was sitting.

Harry raised a eyebrow at him, _What's his problem?_ "Depends, what are you looking for?"

"Aerith asked us to check out the bell," Goofy explained, "We're going to ring it three times to see if anything will happen."

"Well, let's tear down these boards guys! Ready?" Sora piped up.

"Yeah!" Donald said with a jump.

"Alright then... CHARGE!" the small brunette shouted as he ran straight towards the boarded-up doorway. He crashed into the wooden planks, followed immediately Donald and Goofy, falling on top of each other as the boards eventually gave way at their combined force.

Harry stared at the sight in shock for a moment before he found himself desperately holding his laughter in. Of all the ways to break through... Taking a glance at Riku, he found the silver-haired teen had faired no better than him though, but unlike Harry, he had face-palmed at the sight.

"Ow..." Sora moaned slightly, rubbing his abused forehead. Riku sighed mentally and knelt beside his pouting friend.

Harry curiously stepped pass them and, inside the newly revealed small cubicle, glanced upwards. Though it was a little dark, he could see clearly the round shell of the old golden bell, a thick scraggly rope dangling down from it. Gripping it tightly in his hands, he gave it a sharp tug.

_Gong._

Heads swivelled in surprise when, in the distance, the stone mural above the fountain began to move. Slowly the stone block spun, revealing another mural, this one an autumn setting. Without any prompting, Harry gave the rope another tug.

_Gong._

The slow, grinding noise came once more as the the stone block turned to reveal another mural. One last time, Harry pulled.

_Gong._

Water spurted out from within behind the stone block as it turned once more. Suddenly, the ground shook, rumbling and grumbling and then... the Heartless appeared.

"Hey! It's that's Heartless we fought before!" Sora shouted out in recognition as he pointed at the Guard Armour.

"Well then," Riku stepped up beside Sora, "What are we waiting for?" And without another word, he jumped off the building, landing lightly on his feet before charging straight towards the Heartless. The brunette grinned before jumping off as well, the rest close behind.

Large Bodies and other smaller Heartless sprang up but together, the five made quick work of these before they turned their attention to the Boss. Suddenly the door to the back alley burst open, revealing Squall and Yuffie who had come running as soon as they caught the sounds of fighting.

"Yikes!" Yuffie cried as the Guard armour swiped angrily at them, forcing them to jump apart. Squall quickly made his way to Harry and began to check if he was okay. Harry was caught between being extremely happy and extremely annoyed at the treatment. He could look after himself after all...

The group, now seven, ducked and dodged around the Heartless as it tried to tear them apart, striking it's hollow shell whenever they caught an opening in its defence and throwing cure spells at one another when they were weren't able to dodge fast enough. In the end, it didn't really stand a chance. But just when they had thought they had won, Sora striking it one last time with his newly acquired Jungle King, the giant Heartless gave a mighty shudder and transformed into Opposite Armour. In their surprise, the Heartless caught some of them unaware; taking out Sora, Donald and Harry with one fell swoop.

Squall flinched violently.

Blood gushed freely from where the armour had caught in Harry's skin only briefly. Quickly, leaving the others to take care of Sora and Donald, he pulled Harry out of the way and pushed a strong cure spell into him. For one heart-stopping moment, nothing seemed to happen but to his relief, emerald-eyes fluttered open.

"Leon?" he asked softly and Leon was startled to see the eyes once so full of life and heart-breaking pain, staring blankly back at him.

"Yes, Harry?"

"...I died didn't I?"

"Yes..." Leon replied uncertainly.

"...did you die too?" Harry's voice was so soft Leon almost missed it.

"No, I didn't Harry..."

"Oh," Pause, "Why am I still alive then?"

Leon choked and it took all his control to refrain from shaking the teen vigorously in an attempt to knock some sense into him, "Because I brought you back..."

"Oh," Harry repeated, this time a little sadly.

"Harry, **please**," Leon pleaded as he searched those emerald-eyes for something. For **anything**.

Harry looked up at him, "Squall..." and then a sudden realisation seemed to come over him, eyes blinking rapidly until all the shadows behind them finally passed though not completely, "I... I'm sorry... I... d-don't..." he stuttered, trying to push the brunette away. Squall wouldn't allow it though, drawing the smaller teen closer.

"Why won't you let me help you..." he whispered into the raven locks.

Harry bit his lip and shut his eyes tightly, _Because_ _I don't want to have to hurt you..._

-

"Hey, Riku?"

"Hmm?" the silver-haired teen answered from his side. Sora tried to ignore how close the other teen was; ever since that incident with the Opposite Armour, Riku had been even more reluctant to leave his side. Not that he minded of course, just that...

Sora cursed mentally when that damnable heat started to rise up in his cheeks again when Riku's shoulder bumped into his. Thankfully, Riku had been examining the chart with their opponents in the games and wasn't looking at him.

"It's just..." Sora pointed at one of the names on the chart, "Doesn't that name seem familiar to you?"

"What? Cloud?" Riku frowned thoughtfully, "No, I don't think we know anyone called that..."

"Oh..." Sora trailed off uncertainly; he was sure he had heard of that name somewhere and it wasn't about those fluffy white things in the sky...

-

"Ah, Harry my boy, I was wondering when you'd come visit me," the wise old wizard said as he looked up from the thick novel spread out in front of him, "It is good to see you are well."

"You too, Sir," Harry greeted with a small smile. Fondly, he noticed that, despite moving in only days earlier, the wizard had already turned the once dark, gloomy abandoned house into a homey little place that looked like a tornado had passed through. Books, papers, bottles and jars of all shapes and sizes were scattered everywhere among the strangely shaped magic-conjured furniture and uneven shelves. Merlin could never keep a tidy home despite all his amazing abilities.

"Hmm..." the old wizard peered into the bubbling pot beside him as he stirred gently, "Be a good lad and pass me the jar of shrivelled mandrake. It's on that shelf over there," he said, waving lightly to his left without looking up.

Harry nodded and made his way over, picking up the only jar on the shelf, sitting among many books haphazardly stacked together, some sitting precariously on the edge. Handing the occupied wizard the ingredient, he too peered into the bubbling potion. It was a strange shade of murky purple and didn't look like any he had ever learnt about, "What is this?" Harry asked quietly as if any loud noise would disturb the process.

"Just a little project I'm working on," Merlin replied, slowly dropping the mandrake into the potion. It started to turn orange wherever the mandrake had touched it. He stirred and it slowly became a light brown, "Something that may help us keep the Heartless at bay..." the wise, old wizard suddenly glanced up from his stirring and gave Harry a piercing look, "You seem troubled, my lad. Your heart is heavy."

Harry looked up in surprise and immediately looked away; _did Merlin know legilimency? _"I'm fine," he assured instantly but Merlin continued to stare at him, "Will you... tell me about Kingdom Hearts?" he asked instead.

Merlin frowned slightly at the sudden change of topic and for a moment, Harry thought he wasn't going to answer the question, "Kingdom Hearts," he said after the moment's silence, "Not much is known about it. Many believe that it is a manifestation of darkness of the heart. There are those who seek it to use its power for there is darkness in every heart, making its power immense beyond anything in this universe."

"And you?" Harry asked after a moment's contemplation, "What do you believe?"

Strange look passed over Merlin's face but it disappeared before he could decipher it, "I believe in the light that resides within that darkness," he said resolutely, "What about you? What do you believe Kingdom Heart holds?"

Harry bit his lip; _the darkness that will bring back my light._

-

"So why did you go along with Hades anyway?" Sora asked curiously. Despite the dark clothes the blonde was decked out in, for some reason Sora couldn't see Cloud as one to follow the darkness. _Cloud... where the hell have I heard of that name?_ He thought to himself in annoyance, absent-mindedly ruffling his own spiky brown hair.

Cloud looked up from his thoughts and quirked an eyebrow at him, "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help," his blue eyes shuttered closed with a soft sigh, _How was he supposed to find him now?_

Riku nodded in understanding, "You tried to exploit the darkness but it backfired on you. You couldn't find your light."

Sora glanced at his friend peculiarly; why did Riku sound like he knew exactly how Cloud felt? But anyway... "So who are you looking for? We do a lot of er... travelling and maybe we'll meet them. Hey! We might have already met them and you'll soon be reunited!" he said with a grin.

Cloud smiled back a little, the brunette's smile strangely contagious, "It... is a possibility... Well, he's got black hair and green eyes and-" the blonde paused when Sora and Riku simultaneously choked, eyes widening in shock.

_It's a small world indeed_, Riku thought with dry amusement, _it's strange how everything comes back to him in the end..._

"I knew I'd heard your name somewhere!" Sora gasped in surprise, "You're Harry's friend!"

Cloud's cold blue eyes brightened, a slight glimmer of hope shining within them; the first in a very long time...

-

Harry gripped the edge of the ship tightly, knuckles white as he took in a deep breath; was he really going to go through with it? Could he really do it?

Gritting his teeth, he slung the bag from over his shoulder and into the cockpit before hoisting himself into the seat. He ran a hand over the controls and sighed; it didn't matter whether he could or not. His heart wouldn't let him do otherwise. Breathing in deeply once more, he flicked the ignition switch and prepared to take off.

He **needed** to do this.

-

"I can see Traverse Town!" Sora called out happily to Cloud.

The blonde immediately stood up from his seat and made his way over to the brunette to get a better look at the world, "And Harry's here?"

"Yep!" Sora chirped, "And-" he paused, watching as another ship rose from the world and took off in another direction, "Who could that be?"

Riku shrugged from the seat beside him, "Doesn't matter. You better slow down for landing."

"Oh, right!"

While the other's turned their attention back to Traverse Town, Cloud's eyes remained fixed intensely on the ship disappearing into the distance.

He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong...

* * *

**Final note:** I just gave Harry back to Squall and now I've taken him away again... what the **hell** am I doing?! Oh well... please pretend there were a lot more slashy scenes between those two in this chapter... seriously, you don't want to see me attempt to write any more romance than I have... I can't write anything! -more angst- Please review... 


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **(in the shounen-ai sense and not the yaoi sense... I really don't noe how to write it...) anda warning of unbetaedness as usual...

**Pairings:** Leon/Harry, Cloud/Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (now depending on whether Cloud will cooperate or not o.o), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/?, Irivne/Aerith, oh and maybe Cid/Yuffie if I really feel twisted... okay maybe not, that's taking absurd to a whole new level... where's Vincent when you have a cheeky, hyper ninja princess and a profane captain that smokes like a chimney to sick on him? Hmm...

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came. **(Anyone think I should change this summary?)**

**Note 1.** Thank you so much to all my reviewers! And many sorries (or is it spelt sorrys? Heck, is that even a word?) for the massive delay. I had to go with my gran to visit my aunt in another state and to think... they didn't have the internet! I couldn't write any more because the internet is like my life-blood, I can't seem to function without it and yeh it just seemed to all spiral outta control after that... sorry! -begs for forgiveness by handing out Leon plushies-

**Note 2.** btw unedited version as its getting late, I have a test tomorrow (surprise surprise... not!) and i'm tired...

**Note 3.** wow! I can't write fight scenes...

**Note 4.** parts may be changed at later day as plot is getting away from me... beware of plot holes! DX

-

**Chapter 7.**

"I'd thought you'd never come."

Harry froze from locking up the ship before spinning around rapidly, "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

The darkly robed figured merely smiled, "Why, to make sure that you had a safe trip of course."

Emerald eyes narrowed but made no comment. He swifly shut the ship with a loud click, camouflaged it and strode past the other man without a second glance.

"Don't touch me," Harry spat when the man made to grab his arm.

"Of course," the man replied smoothly, opting to wave at Harry's retreating back instead, "Good luck, my love."

Harry ignored him.

-

The small piece of paper crumpled easily in his fist. But the weight of the short scribbled message on one of its sides was too much for him to handle. He'd failed again.

"Squall!" a voice called out from behind him and several people huddled in through the door, "Harry he's-" Aerith paused when the temperature seemed to drop sharply all around them. They all fell silent.

"I know," he said softly, his fingers tightening for a second before he haphazardly chucked the scrunched up bit of paper over his shoulder. Irvine fumbled a little in surprise when it sailed over to him and smacked him right on the forehead. Carefully he unfolded the fragile bit of paper, the others looking curiously over his shoulder to read the note. They needn't have bothered. The note only had one word; _Goodbye_.

"Well this isn't particularly helpful," Irvine joked nervously in the tense silence but his laughter quickly tapered off at the Look Aerith was giving him. The room fell into another uncomfortable silence.

"So…" Yuffie piped up uncertainly as they stared at Squall's back, "What are we waiting for? Are we going to go after him or-"

"No," Squall interrupted sharply.

Yuffie stared at him in surprise; that hadn't been the response she'd expected, "But…"

"We've got to stay here to protect the people of Traverse Town from the Heartless," Squall explained emotionlessly. Then something hard connected with the back of his head (A.N.: question… would Squall say "ow"? I can't imagine it for some reason…), "Aerith, what-?" Squall glared at her but the smaller brunette merely glared back at him in ten-fold.

"You!" she shouted, waving her finger angrily at him. Squall stared down at her in confusion, "You… idiot!"

Everyone in the room blinked as one, wondering if they had hearing problems.

"Harry hasn't left because he doesn't need you anymore. If anything, this note should have told you that this is the time he needs you the most!" she shouted at the unusually wide-eyed Squall. Irvine wasn't surprised though; getting screamed at by the normally soft and serene Aerith Gainsborough was pretty unnerving. He himself knew all too well. "It was obvious he was hurting from something and has left because of it, thinking that he has to deal with it alone. But he's forgotten one thing; he may not want our help but he's going to get it anyway because he's important to us!"

Behind her, Irvine blinked and squinted at the note; _How the hell did she get that much information from one word?_

"Now," Aerith said before taking a deep breath to calm herself, "I agree that we need to stay here to protect Traverse Town **but** Irvine, Yuffie, Cid and I can do that **without** your help. So what are **you** going to do while **we **protect Traverse Town?" she said in a way that no one doubted things will get pretty ugly for Squall if he answered incorrectly.

Thankfully, to Aerith's satisfation (Irvine could swear there was a smirk on her face... scary...), it seemed she had managed to get through his thick skull as Squall nodded with determination, "Cid, I'll need a Gummi Ship."

The ex-pilot smirked at him, "Well lucky for you, Sora brought back a shitload of Gummi blocks last time and said I could use them as I see fit so I should be able to whip one up for you in no time."

"Then enough with the standing around! Let's go, go, go!" Yuffie pouted before she started to push the stoic teen out the door despite his protests that he could very much walk by himself. They didn't get very far though; as soon as they stepped into the corridor, Squall collided with something very blonde.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Yuffie cried, peering around Squall briefly before she burst into loud squeals, "Cloudster!"

The blonde froze as a black-haired projectile flew towards with the intent to glomp and deftly stepped out of the way.

"What?" Yuffie wondered for a moment dizzily from the ground where she had landed when her target disappeared, "Hey!" Cloud ignored her, instead turning his icy-blue-eyed attention to brunette standing in the doorway instead.

"You're alive," Squall said simply after a moment's silence.

Cloud merely shrugged in response before his gaze hardened, "Where's Harry?"

The room fell into the silence once more, no one knowing what to say. Even Yuffie became quiet though she fidgeted from the obvious tension in the air.

Cloud took one look at the group and knew instantly, "He's gone, isn't he?" Squall's jaw tightened ever so slightly as he gave a stiff nod in response.

No one missed the flash of anger that tore through Cloud's eyes but none were surprised by it. They all knew how much the emerald-eyed teen had meant to him. Their bond was on par with Harry and Squall's if not more so on some occasions.

But that didn't lessen their surprise when Cloud suddenly flew forward and slammed his fist into Squall's face.

-

Drizella grunted as she struggled to force her large foot into the tiny glass shoe.

"I'm afraid it doesn't fit," John, the footman, ground out, only just barely keeping back the ugly scowl threatening to surface when they kept the shoe just out of his reach, lamenting loudly that it had fit perfectly before and that the shoe **must** have shrunk. Hastily, he snatched up the fragile piece of glass from its untimely doom as the mother 'accidentally' dropped it when he demanded the shoe be returned to him. He refrained from bursting out into an ungentlemanly hissy fit; the prince was counting on him to find his bride. He didn't have time to waste of these poor excuses of human beings.

"Are there any more maidens in this house?" he grumbled, _though, it's more like any there any maidens __**at all**__ in this bloody house..._

"No," Lady Tremaine answered immediately, nudging her youngest daughter sharply when she fidgeted. The footman grew suspicious.

"No," she repeated fervently, "Just my two daughters and little ol' me," she said with a little 'dainty' laugh at the end, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

John grit his teeth as he massaged his forehead with his right hand, _urge to kill... rising._ He quickly squashed down that feeling though; it just wasn't proper for him to go Crusader on her arse and burn her on the stake. Not while he was on the job for the Prince anyway... "Then we'll take our leave Mada-"

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from another room. Without giving the witch a chance to speak, the footman nudged roughly past her and into what he supposed was the kitchen. It was empty.

"Oh dear!" the witch/hag/banshee combo gasped, "We must have rats in our house! Oh my!"

He ignored her and headed straight for the closet, flinging it open.

Empty.

Damn it.

Tremaine sidled up beside him, "Looks like they've escaped yet again," she said demurely, a fake smile plastered on her face. John scowled, he was sure that old witch was hiding something! Maybe she-

One of the soldiers who followed John into the kitchen stared at him strangely when the footman suddenly froze up, "Sir?" he questioned curiously.

"Let's go men," the footman said, and without another word, turned around and strode out of the house, leaving the baffled soldiers to hurriedly follow him. When they were gone, Tremaine and her daughters released equal sighs of relief.

"That was close!" Drizella moaned.

"I wonder why the sudden change of heart though?" Anastasia asked her mother curiously.

"Who cares!" Lady Tremaine said, making her way to the stairs, "Now, come along!"

Inside the closet, Harry silently tucked his wand back into his pocket. To his side, the equally invisible Cinderalla lay stupified.

_I'm sorry._

-

Squall ignored his stinging jaw and instead focused on Cid instructions on how to pilot the ship. Cloud was silently leaning against the wall in the background doing the same.

And still glaring at him if that hair-raising feeling on the back of his neck was anything to go by. The blonde had certainly shown his... **displeasure** at the loss of Harry and had only stopped at the intervention of Aerith.

"Ah, it is as I had feared," a new voice interrupted his thoughts, "He had gone alone, hasn't he?"

"You mean you knew Harry was going to leave and you didn't tell us, old man?" Yuffie huffed at the wizard standing in the doorway.

Merlin gave her a stern look but continued, "He never said exactly so when he came to see me a while ago but I had my suspicions from our conversation."

"So you know where he's gone?" Squall immediately spoke up, a tinge of hopefulness in his tone.

"Well, I'm uncertain as to the exact location," the wizard said, stroking his long white beard with one hand, "but I do know how you can find him. Here, take this," and from one of his pockets pulled out a small, spherical contraption.

"A compass?" Squall asked uncertainly, reaching out to grasp it but before he could, another hand stretched forward and snatched it away, "Cloud..." the brunette growled.

"And what makes you think you should the one to go look for him?" the blonde murmured softly, staring down at the small compass sitting in the middle of his palm. _Especially since it was __**you**__ who lost him in the first place?_ The question was left unsaid but everyone heard it loud and clear.

Squall glared darkly at the blonde's bent head, fist clenching tightly, but he made no response. Afterall, it was true. If only he had looked after Harry better...

"Stop it!" Aerith shouted, "This isn't the time for this-"

"Then when will it be?!" Cloud suddenly burst out, "The next time he screws up?!"

"Cloud! Stop it now!" Aerith repeated. Cloud turned round to look at her and froze at the look on her face, immediately backing down with a huff before turning away. Irvine silently applauded the blonde's intelligence in the background; while he knew Cloud had a pretty good reason to be angry, that didn't make facing down an angry Aerith any less life-threatening, "Now... how does this compass work Merlin?"

"Hum?" the old wizard blinked at the sudden change of topic, "What?"

"Well, I assume it doesn't point north as regular compasses do," Aerith frowned slightly at him when she didn't get her answer immediately.

"Oh? Oh!" Merlin said, coming to his senses. He coughed nervously at having the still-grumpy brunette's attention focused solely on him, "Well er... I got the idea from a friend of mine living in the Carribean. It's a mysterious device; one whose magic points to whatever the user desires most. So as long as finding Harry is what you want the most, you will have no trouble finding him. The original looked like a regular compass but I've made some adjestments so that it'd point up and down in addition to the usual north, east, south or west. Simple."

"Then it's settled," Aerith cut in with a delighted clap of her hands, a bright smile on her face, "Squall and Cloud will take Merlin's compass and find Harry together," she said, completely ignoring the deadly glares the brunette and the blonde were throwing each other.

No one was brave enough to comment though...

-

Green eyes narrowed as she sensed an unfamiliar presence behind her. Drawing her hand away from the glowing pool, she smiled, "And who might you be?" she asked silkily, not bothering to turn around, preferring to stare into the pool's depths.

"I hear you are searching for the seven Princesses of Heart," her new guest said instead of answering her.

Maleficent paused, "And what of it?" she replied, her curiosity rising. There was silence and then a sudden thump making her turn in surprise. Glowing green met emerald.

"A gift," the raven-haired stranger said with a small flick of his hand, "of Good Will. And," he added nonchalantly with a raised eyebrow, "proof, I suppose, of more to come?"

Glowing green looked down at the unmoving form of Cinderella before returning her gaze to his, a certain glint flickering in the shadows of her eyes, "And what, dare I ask, do you expect in return?" she said, the hint of threat obvious in her tone if he suggested anything at all... _unreasonable_.

"The Door," he said simply. Glowing green flashed angrily but the teen merely raised a hand to motion that he had yet to finish, "I have no intention to rule any world, you need not expect that from me as you would your other... _associates_. In any case, I ask you not to question my aims but rather consider my uses. I think we would both find that arrangement much more agreeable."

Maleficent stared at him as she considered his words, "Agrabah," she said finally, "Bring me the Princess from there and we have a deal."

The stranger nodded and without another word, he turned and left the room. Shutting the door quietly behind him, he wondered once more what he had gotten himself into. With a soft sigh, he steeled himself for what was to coming, knowing he couldn't turn back now but just as he made to leave, something in the corner on his eye made him pause.

Just down the corridor, a familiar red-headed girl peeked out curiously at him.

-

The cockpit was completely silent but the underlying tension was thick.

Squall silently guided the Gummi ship past the obstacles that was randomly scattered through space. To his side, Cloud sat stoically in the co-pilots seat, in a manner eerily reminiscent of himself. Faintly, he speculated the effect Harry's disappearance had on the blonde teen but decided there had to be much more to that story for there to be so much of a change in personality. Not that he was about to start questioning him... no, not when the dark coils of tension flowing off Cloud told him exactly how foolish it would be for him to do that. He needed to find Harry and he'd need Cloud's cooperation to do that.

And so, the cockpit remained completely silent.

-

Riku smiled down at the sleeping form of his best friend who was currently using him as a pillow. Nudging the other boy lightly, he said, "Time to get up, sleepyhead. We're here."

Blue eyes opened, blinking groggily up at him, "Huh? Riku, what...? Oh!" the brunette said as he mind began to clear. Sitting up, he blearily rubbed his eyes, blushing a little as he wiped away the bit of drool that managed to escape in his slumber. The silver-haired teens amusement merely grew when the brunette turned to scowl at him for silently laughing at him, a light blush still staining his cheeks.

"So where are we?" Sora huffed, staring out the window at the vast oceans of sand, sand, more sand and... oh, look a city! And then... well, what a surprise (not), more sand! Not that he minded though; it reminded him of the sandy beaches of the Destiny Islands... just minus the water and a whole lot more sand.

"Agrabah!" Donald piped up from the controls, releasing one hand from the wheel for a moment to point at the aforementioned city they were heading towards.

"Do you see any Heartless, Sora?" Goofy said, ambling up beside him to look out the window as well. (A.N. Yes, my sorry attempt at bring them back into the story...)

"Nope, not yet," the keyblade master replied, "But that doesn't mean they're not there."

They landed their ship quite a distance from the city, away from prying eyes. The trek to the city was hot and tiring, and not one of them wasn't relieved when they finally arrived at the waterhole on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by blissful palm tree shade. Riku was the first to recover and decided to scope out the city from the entrance. It wasn't long though, before a frown made its way onto his face.

"What's wrong, Riku?" Sora asked, seeing the expression on his best friend's face.

"There's no one here," the silver-haired teen replied after a moment' s contemplation.

Sora looked at him in confusion; a city like this should be sprawling with people. Sora walked up to stand beside Riku, peeking out from behind the taller teen to look inside. The silver-haired teen wasn't kidding; not a single person was in sight despite the rather elaborate market place set out.

"Hey!" Riku suddenly shouted making Sora jump, "Is someone there?"

"Hello...?" an uncertain and distinctly feminine voice called out in response. A small, lithe female dressed in light blue stood up slowly from behind some jars and watched them tensely, "You don't look like Heartless... Who're you?"

Sora grinned at her, jumping out from behind Riku, "Hiya! I'm Sora!" he said, hoping to put her at ease, "And this is Riku, Donald and Goofy!"

The girl stared at him for a moment before a soft smile appeared on her face, "I'm Jasmine."

-

"You're..." Harry started, instantly recognising her despite having only spent minutes together.

The red-head nodded, "Kairi," she said simply.

"Harry," he replied. They stared at each other.

"So..." Kairi spke up after a long silence, "What are you doing here?"

Harry frowned, "I... could say the same for you," he said, not particularly wanting to answer her question, "Why did you leave Traverse Town? Sora was very worried about you..."

The small girl grinned and blushed, "Really?" she said hopefully. Harry nodded, "Oh," was her response, the smile widening but then something flickered in her eyes and the smile dropped away as she looked away, suddenly finding the ground very interesting.

Harry's frown deepened, "How did you get here? Hollow Bastion is off-limits to Gummi ships unless they're fitted with a specific Gummi and I don't believe you have one of those. But you were in Traverse Town and the only way that would work is if..." emerald eyes narrowed, "you travelled via a shadow portal."

"You're half-way there," Kairi looked up with a wry grin.

Harry's eyes widened, suddenly realising what it was about the girl that had been bothering him the moment he met her.

Kairi smiled sadly, "The girl who met Sora in Traverse Town; that wasn't me... well, not completely anyway. When the Heartless tried to consume me back home, they couldn't overcome my Light. The result was that my heart was split leaving one being filled with all my hate and anger while the other... well, me. When Maleficent found us, she brought me here while she let my other half to er... wreak havoc, I suppose."

_Except it hadn't worked as well as Maleficent had hoped_, Harry thought, _half her heart meant each had only half the power..._

"So why are you here?" Kairi asked curiously when it seemed he wasn't going to speak.

Harry tensed, his expression darkening, "That's none of your business," he snapped and with that, he turned and stalked away.

Kairi gaped at the sudden change, "Huh? What...? Hey!" she cried when he disappeared around the corner, "Wait!" but it was too later...

He'd already gone.

-

Squall Leonhart glanced around the empty market place of Agrabah emotionlessly. Cloud had walked off as soon as they had landed and wasn't anywhere in sight. He wasn't worried though; the blonde could take care of himself.

Suddenly, a familiar black figure appeared in the corner of his eye made freeze mid-step, "Harry?!" he cried out hopefully.

The raven-haired teen spun around in surprise, emerald eyes wide with shock. For a moment, they stood there staring at each other a little disbelievingly at who they were seeing.

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured, his gaze turning away as he took a tentative step back.

"What?" Squall looked at him in confusion before realisation, "Wait Harry, please!" he shouted, voice tinged with slight desperation but the young wizard paid him no heed, already taking off into the city.

Squall cursed, quickly tearing after him, sprinting through the streets of Agrabah. But Harry didn't stop, not even giving him a chance to speak. Suddenly, a scythe flew out in front of him, just barely missing slicing him in half as he came to an abrupt halt, before it lodged itself solidly into the dusty ground. Looking up, he grit his teeth in frustration.

"Damn it," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair irritably.

"Oh, I'm sorry," an unfamiliar voice cooed from his right, a man cloaked in black stepping out from the shadows, "Did I just get in the way of your little reunion? Oh wait," he added with a smirk, "He ran off, didn't he? Guess he doesn't miss you as much as you thought he did," he said, dislodging his scythe from the ground with a flick of his wrist.

Squall glared, fist clenching in anger, "Who are you?"

"Well, you know what they say," the stranger chirped, raising the scythe, "there's no need for you to know... not someone who's about **die**."

And without giving Squall a chance to answer, he lunged.

-

"Let go!"

Heads swivelled in surprise, turning towards the source of the sound.

"Did you guys hear that?" Donald asked, wand raised in front of him. (A.N. Woah! I managed to give them a second appearance! :D)

"Sounds like someone's in trouble," Goofy said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sora piped up, already taking off towards the sound, "Let's go!"

"Sora, wait!" Riku sighed, but quickly followed. He really needed to teach the other boy the virtues of discretion and subtlety...

"Let... me... go!" the girl cried out, trying to pry her arm away from the strong grip of the Heartless, its claws sinking slowing into her skin.

"Kairi?!"

"Sora!"

Sora lunged forward with his keyblade, felling the Heartless with one swift blow, "Kairi! Are you alright?"

The red-head smiled happily at him, "I am now. Thanks Sora!"

Sora blushed, raising his right hand to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment, "No problem." It was then Riku, Aladdin, Goofy and Donald finally caught up to him. The latter three greeted the girl cheerfully but...

"Kairi," Riku nodded stiffly. He tried to smile, for Sora's sake, but with his diminishing mood, he just couldn't do it.

Kairi merely smiled that sickeningly sweet smile of hers in response, "Riku."

Sora, however, remained blissfully aware of any of this, "Kairi, I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried after you disappeared. What happened?"

"And how did you get here?" Riku added, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

The red-head merely waved him off though, "That's not important," she said nonchalantly, making Riku scowl, "I saw the Heartless take another girl in there!" she said, pointing frantically at the large golden doors that lead to the main chamber.

"It must be Jasmine!" Aladdin gasped, making his way hastily towards the door prompting the others to hurry after him.

"Stick close to me Kairi," Sora called out to the small girl, "I'll protect you."

Kairi smiled, moving closer to his side, "Kay!" but as soon as the brunette looked away, the smile morphed into a smirk, staring smugly at the silver-haired teen behind them.

Riku grit his teeth and glared but said nothing.

There was little else he could do.

-

Squall grunted as he brought his gunblade up to block another blow. Pushing the other man back with his blade, he slashed down as soon as his blade came free, trying to catch the other man. Unfortunately, once again the sakura-haired stranger darted lithely away. However, this time though, Squall anticipated the move as he quickly brought up his free hand to blast a fireball towards his left. The blow connected, leaving Squall feeling no small amount of satisfaction when he heard the strangers gasp in surprise as he was knocked back harshly, his hand raising to clutch his smouldering shoulder. Yet, despite this, as the stranger looked back up at Squall once again, he merely laughed.

"Not bad, not bad..." he giggled, his wide, maniacal grin that showed off both rows of perfect white teeth, sending shivers down Squall's spine, "but not good enough either," he added in a sing-song voice, "sssooo weak and usselessss," he hissed lazily, "No wonder Harry-bear left you and came begging for me to take him," he cooed.

Squall growled menacingly, "Liar!" he shouted as he lunged towards the stranger, anger controlling his actions and intent on doing a **lot** of bodily harm. His raised his gunblade, slashing down once more but this time, instead of meeting steel, his blade met only air as the stranger darted away. His eyes widened in surprise as the other disappeared from in front of him, appearing almost instantaneously to his right, scythe raised.

_Too fast_, was all he could think off as the scythe came down, _I've... failed. Again._

**Clang.**

Squall looked up in astonishment, a giant bastard sword stopping the scythe in its descent.

"Hmph," the sakura-haired man smirked at the blonde as he dislodged his scythe from the blade, "What do we have here? Someone... almost worthy. Willing to deal with the devil and yet... you will help him?" he cooed, eyes glinting as they flickered to the brunette behind the blonde.

Cloud sneered, "Hardly. I just don't wish to see Harry miserable because of him," he said almost bitterly, making Squall look at him sharply.

The other man smiled almost serenely, "How quaint. It seems we are, as they say, in the same boat. Maybe we can of assistance to each other?"

The blonde merely raised his eyebrow, "I don't recall saying that I was willing to share with anyone."

Squall growled but the stranger only laughed in response, "I see. Then I will take my leave," he said with an almost respectful nod before the smirk reappeared on his face, "Even I know better than to clash with one imbued with the power of a God," and with that, he turned and exited through a shadow portal.

"Cloud, what-?" Squall said, barely containing his snarl as he tried to get some answers but the blonde had already started to walk away, with no intention of stopping.

"Hurry up or I'll leave without you," was all he said, leaving Squall with no choice but to silently follow.

_This isn't over._

_I'd hadn't expected it to be._

-

Sora grinned at Kairi, happy to have her by his side once again; _all that was left to do was to seal the keyhole, find Princess Jasmine, take her back to Agrabah and..._ Sora paused.

"Harry...?" he called out in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

He glanced at Riku in confusion when the silver-haired teen tensed, his eyes narrowing with sudden realisation but before Sora could ask what was wrong, a growl sounded from his other side.

"Give me Jasmine," Aladdin ground out, glaring at Harry darkly as he raised his scimitar threateningly.

Sora blinked in surprise for a second before quickly moving forward, raising his hands up in a placating manner, "Aladdin! It's okay!" he said with a sheepish grin, "He's a friend of ours. Don't worry!"

Aladdin looked at him and nodded, lowering his sword but another voice made them jump.

"I'm sorry."

Sora stared up at Harry, eyebrows knitting in confusion, "What-?"

But the raven-haired teen had already turned away, the unconscious Princess in his arms, "I've been saying that a lot lately," he muttered grimly to himself. Eyes widened when a familiar shadow portal burst open in front of Harry.

"Harry!" Sora cried in shock. Without another word, the raven-haired teen stepped through the portal. Beside him, Aladdin didn't waste a second as he darted forward, intent on following but he wasn't nearly fast enough, the portal disappearing in a flash, leaving him to crash onto the dusty ground, "Jasmine!"

"He's... Riku, why did he...?" Sora mumbled, his disbelief and confusion slowing turning into horror and pain. There was only one explanation for what just happened but he couldn't bring himself to around to believe it. Especially not from someone he'd considered to be an older brother...

"Sora!" Riku shouted in concern when the brunette suddenly threw his keyblade onto the ground with an anguish filled cry.

"Harry?" Sora called out weakly, all his anger dissipating in one go, "Why...? I... don't understand..."

_Did I do something wrong?_

Kairi silently stepped forward to his other side, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Don't be like that; I'm sure there's a good reason for all of this."

Sora continued to stare at the spot where Harry once stood sadly, "Y-You're right Kairi. Harry isn't like that... there's got to be a reason..." he said trying to sound confident but no one missed the uncertainty that coloured his voice.

"Everything will be okay," Kairi said softly, eyes suddenly boring past Sora and straight into Riku's.

The familiar unseeing blue sent unbidden shivers down his spine.

-

_finite chapter! R&R please peeps! ur words of happiness help me get through the day! :D and help the next chapter come quicker ;)_


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **(in the shounen-ai sense and not the yaoi sense... I really don't noe how to write it...) anda warning of unbetaedness as usual...

**Pairings:** Leon/Harry, Cloud/Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (now depending on whether Cloud will cooperate or not o.o), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/?, Irivne/Aerith, oh and maybe Cid/Yuffie if I really feel twisted... okay maybe not, that's taking absurd to a whole new level... where's Vincent when you have a cheeky, hyper ninja princess and a profane captain that smokes like a chimney to sick on him? Hmm...

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came.

**Note 1.** **Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I so very (platonically) love you very much!! :D This chapter wouldn't have come if it weren't for you!**

**Note 2.** er... is it just me or is this story getting a bit angsty? Damn it... sorry? o.o And a lack of romance too... sorry...

**Note 3.** This is actually the second last chapter (of this part of the story anyway). So chapter nine and then I start writing up the _Chain of Memories_ segment :D woot! Isn't that going to be fun? :3 Unfortunately, I haven't figured out what I'm going to do for KH2 but hopefully, that'll all work out eventually...

**Note 4.** Word count: 8073 o.o a new record for me...

* * *

**Chapter 8.**

"I don't understand..."

"What's there not to understand?" Harry grumbled as he flicked through another one of the thousands of thick tomes that lined the library shelves.

"You're one of us!" Kairi shouted, stomping her foot, "Why are you doing this?! Why are you helping **them**?! Why are you doing this to So-"

"Sora has nothing to do with this!" Harry snarled as he spun around to face her. Kairi flinched, taking an involuntary step back. Harry took a deep breath, "None of them have anything to do with this," he finished in a calmer voice before returning to his book.

Kairi bit her lip, staring intensely at the back of his head. If she were truthful with herself, she would say she was afraid of him. Afraid of the thick coils of darkness that wrapped around the boy in front of her. But she couldn't let herself be afraid, not when Sora was counting on her. Sora didn't often talk about the raven-haired teen he met in his dreams but when he did, his words were fond, almost loving, as he retold Harry's stories of magic and mayhem. She knew Sora saw him like an older brother and now...

She'd been there when he appeared in a whirl of black flames, the unconscious form of Princess Jasmine cradled in his arms. She'd seen the look on his face despite he'd tried to hide it. And she didn't need to know him well to be able to decipher exactly what it meant. It was a face filled with remorse and anger. The remorse born from betraying a loved one and the anger at oneself as a result.

Sora had seen Harry take Jasmine. And now her closest friend was in broken pieces.

She had to do something!

"Sora told us a lot about you, you know," she began tentatively, glancing at him for any reaction. Harry didn't pause in his reading, "We joked that he should go see a psychiatrist at first, of course but eventually, we realised that Sora would never have been able to come up with such stories especially with all that detail on his own," still no reaction, "You were always the hero in those stories, whenever your friends were in danger you'd be right at the front of the line to save them," she continued, absently running her fingers across the spines of the many books in front of her, "Save them from the darkness," she paused, eyes flickering to the raven-haired man before looking away again and then said nervously, "I wonder what they would say if they you-"

She didn't finish what she said as something suddenly came flying at her. She shrieked as a thick tome slammed into the bookshelf, in the spot she had just stood before she had jumped away by reflex. The shelf shook dangerously, books spilling out before it slowly came to a stand-still.

"That's enough," Harry said softly, still with his back towards her.

Kairi stared at him fearfully but refused to back down, "But Harry-"

"I said, **that's enough!**" he screamed. Kairi whimpered, raising her hands protectively around her head as glass windows shattered all around them.

Harry breathed heavily, staring hatefully at the shaken red-haired girl, "Don't talk about them as if you knew them better than I did," he muttered bitterly and then stormed out of the library.

Kairi sighed, _Isn't there anything I can do...?_

-

Harry strode angrily down the corridor, no destination in mind except for the whirlwind of thoughts that rankled him. _How dare she... how dare she talk about something that she knows __**nothing**__ about?! She grew up a spoilt, little princess... she has no idea what she's talking about! She has no idea how much its hurts to lose her only family..._

But deep down, Harry knew she was right. If they knew what he's doing to get them back...

_But that isn't the point is it?_ Harry stopped, resting his right hand on the wall beside him, _Even if they do hate for what I've done... It'd be worth it to see them just once more..._ he sighed, absently playing with his necklace in his left hand.

"Oh? And what do we have here?"

Harry jumped, whirling around to face the intruder into his thoughts. He hadn't bothered however; the man (or at least that's what his voice sounds like...) was fully cloaked, revealing nothing about himself. For a tense second, he thought Marluxia had decided to pay another him **visit**, to his disgust. However, the voice was a lot deeper than the sakura-haired man's and had long revealed his appearance to Harry anyway so there would be no reason for him to have remained cloak. Harry felt a knot of tension leave him but he was no less weary of this stranger as he subconsciously felt for his wand.

As if reading his thoughts, the stranger raised his hands in a placating manner, "Now, now. There's no need for that," Harry could almost **hear** the smile in that voice, "After all, what could I possibly gain from hurting my wayward P**rincess**."

Harry's face went blank, barely keeping back the snarl that threatened to reveal itself; _How does he know I'm a Princess?!_

The man took a step forward and almost immediately Harry took a step back. Harry was strong but he also had his limits. Who knew what this man could be capable of?

The man laughed as Harry backed away, "Come now, why are you so afraid? Aren't we on the **same** **side**?" he said, then laughing at his own 'joke'.

Harry couldn't see what was so funny though, "Who are you?" he asked instead, wondering whether he should just make a break for it. But then again... that was leave his back exposed to this man...

"Ah, I am known as," the man paused for dramatic effect, a small flourish with his right hand, "Ansem."

Harry's eyes widened momentarily but quickly shook himself free of the shock. "Who are you trying to fool?" he sneered, "You are not Ansem. You have neither his presence nor his voice. You're obviously nothing but a fake."

"Oh, is that so?" 'Ansem' laughed again, "But it can be so easily explained, my Princess."

Emerald eyes narrowed but said nothing.

"You, see..." 'Ansem' leaned forward, voice softening as if he was sharing some amazing secret with Harry, "I'm a Heartless."

Harry flinched, "Liar," he said disbelievingly. _It w__**ould**__ explain everything but that would mean Ansem's de..._ "NO!" he shouted in denial as he stepped back, "**LIAR!**" he screamed one last time before spinning around and sprinting down the corridor, intent on putting as much distance as he could with the other man.

'Ansem's' echoing laughter haunted his every step.

-

Sora dangled his legs over the edge of the belltower overlooking the second district, staring numbly at nothing in particular. Behind him, Riku and Kairi argued, throwing insults back and forth as they did so, subconsciously trying to fill the void that Sora once filled with his happy-go-lucky chatter. Donald and Goofy had disappeared off somewhere, presumably to decide their next destination.

Sora sighed, leaning forward as he rested his head in his hands, _I don't understand_, he though in frustration, _It doesn't make sense... I trusted him and he... Why did he take Jasmine...? What was the dark portal...? Damn it! Why did you do it?!_ The brunette choked back a sob, _...What do I do now...? I... don't want to fight you... I... __**can't fight you!**_

"It's the work of that witch I tell you," Kairi frowned at Riku, "She's got him bewitched. That's must be why Harry did what he did."

Riku sneered back at her, "Witch? That bastard was a witch himself! No, he did it completely of his own will," Sora stiffened when those words reached his ears, "And I'm not surprised; he couldn't be trusted."

Sora snapped.

"Shut up, Riku!" he shouted, no longer able to keep a hold on his rampant emotions.

The silver-haired boy stared at him, wide-eyed at the outburst, "Sora, what-?"

"Damn it, Riku! What do you have against Harry, huh?" the brunette growled, "He's never done anything to **you**," he said, bitterly, "He's done nothing except **help** you! You should be one defending him! Instead, all this time you've done nothing except complain about him!" Sora breathed heavily, calming down slightly but anger still written all over his face, "If anyone has any right to complain, it's **me**," he said softly.

Silence; shocked at the usually mild-mannered Sora turning against his best friend.

"T-that's right!" Kairi suddenly piped up, "So then what are we waiting for?" she said, smiling widely.

Sora glanced at her in confusion, "Huh?"

"Let's go find Harry, Sora," she elaborated, "There's got to be a reason why he's done what he has done. And if he doesn't, well," Kairi pumped her small fist, "Then we'll just have to knock some sense into him."

"You... You're right," Sora smiled, easily accepting the idea, no matter the destination or the consequences as long as it gave him some direction, "Let's go find Donald and Goofy."

"Sora, wait-!" Riku snapped out of his shocked stupor, reaching out to the other boy.

But Sora pulled away immediately, giving him a hard look, "If you won't help me find Harry then you can stay here," he said and turned and left.

Riku could only watch miserably as they walked away, Kairi latched firmly onto Sora's arm.

_What have I done...?_

-

Harry peered inside the small cottage. Inside, an old hag reached into her basket, pulling out a perfect, shiny red apple and offered it to the dark-haired maiden in front of her.

"It's a magical wishing apple," the old woman says, placing in it the palm of the young woman. Around her, blue birds and small animals twittered anxiously. They, like Harry, could feel something was wrong. This wasn't any old woman. _A glamour_, Harry thought absentmindedly.

Snow White peered at the apple curiously, mesmerized by its bright glow unlike any apple she had ever seen.

"Go on," the old woman insisted, smiling a toothless smile, "Have a bite."

The young woman, ignoring the warnings of the woodlands creatures, gingerly lifted it to her mouth. The old woman leaned forward, eyes glinting as Snow White opened her mouth and bites almost eagerly into the bright, red apple.

She chewed once and then it was all over. Snow White felt to the ground with a solid thump.

Clouds started forming overhead, the old woman staring delightfully at the fallen girl. Around her, the animals panicked, fluttering around before they seemed to come to a decision, all rushing off in the same direction in haste.

"Hahaha..." the old woman laughed softly, a loud crack of thunder and a flash of lightening tore across the sky, "HahaHaHaHAHAHA...!" she broke out in large peals of cackling laughter, the storm worsening by the second, "Now, I'll be the fairest in the land!" she shouts at the ceiling, eyes lit up, shining with insanity.

Harry shrunk back as a clapping noise grew louder and ever closer. Then from the darkness, seven small men burst forward, fear and anger on their faces. They turned to the small cottage, just in time to see the hag fleeing off into the forest. And moments later, after briefly agonising over the unmoving Snow White, they followed.

Revenge.

When there appeared to be no sign of any of them, nor did it seem like they would return any time soon, Harry stepped into the small cottage. Lowering his hood and shaking himself slightly of the rain that clung to his cloak, the crouched down next to Snow White. He could still feel her presence, the bright and shining aura of a Princess though dulled by powerful magic. Powerful magic that Harry recognised almost instantly, without the help of any spell. He'd already seen the effects so many times before – _The Draught of Living Death_.

He reached forward, intending to take her back to Hollow Bastion, but before he even touched her, a hand shot forward from behind him, clamping tightly onto his wrist and pulled, forcing Harry to spin around to face his attacker.

Harry flinched violently, "S-Squall..."

"Harry..." Squall stared at him with such hurt and yet with so much hope, the raven-haired teen's heart clenched painfully, "Come home with me," he pleaded.

Harry winced, forcing his gaze away lest he gave in immediately. He really did want to just agree there and then... He really did want to just throw himself into the brunette's arms and stay there forever, he really did! However... there was something that he wanted even more... and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way.

Harry, without any warning, violently wrenched his wrist away from Squall's grip, taking several steps back as he did so. With some distance between them, he felt he could look up without fear of that urge coming back. The heartbroken look on the brunette's face hurt no less than it did the first time when he looked up, but Harry felt more in control of his actions now.

"I can't," Harry bit out, "Just... give up, Squall. You're better off finding someone else-"

Squall laughed derisively, making Harry look at him strangely, "I don't want anyone else," he said stubbornly.

Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, "Squall-"

"I love you," the brunette suddenly interrupted.

Harry stared at him, wide-eyed, "What?"

"I said, I love you," Squall repeated with no less conviction, eyes refusing to leave Harry's, "And nothing will ever change that."

"Y-You... You... love me?" Harry echoed disbelievingly but filled with absolute wonder at those three words as if he wanted to believe the other male but another part of him obstinately refused to.

Squall nodded once, stretching out his hand again, hoping desperately that Harry would take it.

"I-I-I..." Harry stuttered, uncertainty clouding his eyes. He felt so confused, his heart and mind a muddled mess as he tried to come to terms with what the brunette had just said.

**Thump.**

Harry gasped, hand raising up to clench the middle of his chest as an unimaginable pain seared through it. Squall stepped forward, face crinkling in worry as Harry doubled over in agony, "Harry!"

But he didn't get very far before a familiar scythe flew past him and embedded into the wall, stopping him in his tracks. And that momentary pause was all that was needed for the familiar owner of the scythe to crouch beside Harry, his gloved fingers running lovingly through Harry's dark hair.

Squall growled, "Don't touch him!" he shouted, taking a threatening step forward. But Marluxia merely smiled at him menacingly. He pulled Harry's head back forcefully by his hair, watching with thinly veiled amusement when the brunette froze at Harry's whimper of pain.

Marluxia's smile grew at Squall's clenched fists and stony glare as he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Harry's cheek, "Time to go home, my love," he crooned, forcing the boy back onto his feet. Harry obediently stayed silent.

Squall could only watch in anger as the sakura-haired man disappeared through a shadow portal; taking both Harry and Snow White with him.

Meanwhile on the other side...

Harry slumped against the cold stone wall, head in his hands. He felt so confused... _What do I do? What am I __**doing**__?! ...no, no, I'm doing the right thing... aren't I? Damn it..._

A shadow cast over him and Harry raised his head from his hands slowly. Emerald eyes met Marluxia's gaze as the man leaned closer to Harry, placing one hand on the wall beside him and the other on the centre of Harry's chest, effectively trapping him there.

"What?" Harry glared tiredly, trying to sound more confident than he actually felt as Marluxia smiled down at him. He stiffened, fists clenched and eyes snapping shut as the other man leaned even closer. Harry mentally braced himself for what was to come so it was to his surprise, instead he heard a soft, tinkling laughter. His eyes sprang open, just as Marluxia's placed a soft kiss to Harry's forehead.

"I **will** have you," Marluxia smirked, "You'll see," he said with promise.

And then he left, leaving Harry to slide down to the ground in horror.

-

"_We don't have time to go look for him! We need to find the King!"_

Sora bit back his growl of anger as Donald's words came back to him. He sat dejectedly on a barrel, staring at nothing in particular; now what was he to do? Even Donald and Goofy won't help him find Harry any more...

They'd just returned from Neverland, Harry no where in sight. Apparently, Wendy hadn't been a Princess as everyone had thought as so there had been no reason for Harry to go there. No, they had gone there to seal another keyhole and bring them one step closer to the King, not to find Harry as he had hoped.

"Sora! There you are!"

Sora let out an explosive sigh; there was no reason to be angry at Kairi. She was the only who actually wanted to help him.

"Sora!" the red-haired girl bounced up to the brunette, "Guess what?"

Sora resisted the urge to groan, "What is it Kairi?"

"I just remembered where one of the other Princesses lived!"

Sora looked at her in confusion, "Huh?"

Kairi grinned, "Well, I thought, since Harry is looking for the Princesses, if we find one, he'll come to us! So all we need to do is pay her a visit!"

Sora gaped, "That's a great idea!" he exclaimed but then his face fell when a thought occurred to him, "But Donald, Goofy and **Riku**," the last one he spat bitterly, "won't let me go find him..."

"Well then," Kairi looked thoughtful, "let's go without them!" she said.

"Without them?" Sora echoed, a dawning look coming onto his face.

Kairi smiled, "Yes, without them. Let's go find Harry and bring him. Just... the two of us," she said with an adoring look.

Sora blushed a little at that look and smiled, "Right, let's go Kairi."

And as the brunette turned to walk away, Kairi smirked to herself.

_This is easier than I thought..._

-

Harry stared at the book blankly; he'd been reading the same sentence sixteen times now but hadn't been bothered to put to down. Plus it gave him ample reason to ignore the little brat that had been stalking him from room to room, as if waiting for a sign before she started to pester him again.

Harry lifted his head slightly as the sounds of footsteps grew louder and louder, wondering who it could be. Suddenly the large wooden doors sprung open, slamming against the stone walls of Hollow Bastion. A snarling Hook stepped inside, limping inside and hurting from the various injuries he had sustained from Peter Pan and Sora. Beady black eyes caught the lone figure draped in the shadows, widening in surprise before narrowing in anger once more.

"You!" he screeched, his anger controlling him, "What are you doing here?!"

Harry raised a solitary eyebrow at him, though inwardly, feeling equally as angry as the irate Captain, "I see no reason tell you," he said snidely, his irritation at never being to find some peace when he wanted to just think overcoming him. Harry eyed the pirate's disorderly appearance and sneered, "Especially not one who can't even seem to capture one little girl, let alone a Princess."

Hook roared in anger, "How dare you?! **I'll kill you!**" he raged, all sense of decorum seeming to leave him in the wake of his fury. He drew his sword and lunged at Harry.

Emerald eyes widened, not expecting Hook to actually attack him. The residents of Hollow Bastion constantly took jabs at each others failings but there was an unspoken rule that disagreements remained purely vocal.

Harry ducked as the captain swiped at him angrily with his hook, hurriedly bringing up his staff to block the sword that tried to take off his head. Hook snarled again and this time, Harry was close enough to see the glazed look in his eyes. Evidently, the Darkness had taken advantage of his weakened state and taken over his heart.

The pirate swung his hook widely, slashing at Harry's front. The teen jumped back but as he did, his necklace flew out and got caught on the hook. Hook growled at the offending piece of jewellery and pulled back without a second thought. The thin cord gave little resistance as it was ripped from around Harry's neck. The small charm that once dangled from it fell to the floor with a soft clink as it hit to cold stone.

Kairi's eyes widened as they hazy shadow that she once had sense surrounding Harry seemed to fade away before retreating into the small jewel on the floor. Harry seemed dazed for a moment, placing his hand on his heart. And suddenly, everything seemed clear to Kairi and so without any hesitation, she ran forward and did the only thing she could do; she stomped on the charm **hard**.

The small dark crystal seemed to resist as first but soon succumbed, shattering into a million pieces before disappearing into the air a hazy mist. Looking up, the smile of satisfaction on her face fell a little when she noticed the twin looks of surprise on their faces. Obviously, they'd completely forgotten her presence but that didn't remain for long as the pirate's crazed anger returned. And this time, he decided to choose her as the target.

Kairi shrieked loudly as Hook swung at her with his sword, managing to nip her arm with the sharp tip. She clutched her bleeding arm in horror as the pirate lunged forward again only this time he was blind-sided by a large fireball to the side of his head. As he crashed to the floor, Kairi looked up to see Harry with his wand raised.

"_Stupefy_!" he called out and a ray of red light erupted from the tip of his wand, slamming into the side of the pirate this time. Hook stopped moving.

Kairi stared at the still body fearfully, "Is he... d-dead?"

"No, just stunned," Harry said, lowering his wand, "How's your arm?"

Kairi glanced at her bleeding arm and whimpered. Harry moved closer, sighing at the scared look she gave him as he did so, and gave his wand another wave, "_Cure_."

The cut on Kairi's arm glowed a bright white light and as it faded, it revealed smooth, unmarred skin. She gave a sigh of relief and turned to face Harry again, "So... I was right...? That necklace... It was controlling you...?" she trailed off uncertainly but hopefully. She fidgeted anxiously when he didn't reply, instead opting to stare at the shattered remains of the charm.

"No," Harry finally said making Kairi look at him in fear once more, "There were only compulsion charms on that..."

"...Compulsion charms?" Kairi echoed.

Harry turned away, "No matter how much I wanted my family back... I couldn't bring myself to betray my new friends for them," he said bitterly, "A compulsion charm was the small push that took me over that line."

"Oh..." Kairi bit her lip, wondering if she should still be worried, "So... what are you going to do now?"

Silence.

"I... don't know..." Harry finally answered, "What **am** I supposed to do now...?" he said as he recalled everything that had happened and feeling lost on what should come next. Most of the Princesses had already been gathered in Hollow Bastion and to try and free them all would be very risky; even with all his luck he doubted he'd get them all out alive. And then there was Squall and Sora... he didn't even know where to begin should he see them again.

"I think you should go find Belle."

Harry looked up at her surprise, "What?"

Kairir crossed her arms over her chest, "She's the last Princess that still out there, isn't she? Protect her. Protect her until we can come up with a better plan to stop them opening the Door."

_She's right... _he thought, _That's all I can do now except for_... Harry winced.

"He'd go there too, you know..." Kairi said, watching him for a reaction.

"Hmm...?"

"Sora... He wouldn't stop looking for you," she said, "He'd go there if there was a chance to meet you and then all you'd have to do is explain. And apologise," she gave him a confident look, "He'll understand."

Harry wished he could be so certain.

-

Riku sat against the wall and moped.

Sora had ignored him during the whole course of their stay in Neverland and as soon as they had gotten back to Traverse Town, he had disappeared off somewhere with Kairi.

Riku didn't think he could possibly as miserable as he felt right now.

He sighed, curling up so he could rest his head on his knees. Now that he was thinking clearly again, he realised he hadn't really meant what he had said about Harry. Half of the reason was that he had gotten so used to disagreeing with Kairi on principle that he hadn't realised the effect he was having on his best friend. And the other half of the reason...

The same reason he'd always hated Kairi for.

Destiny Islands was small, the people few. Of the children, there weren't many of them either and often lived on islands to far out to be worth socialising with. Tidus and Wakka would always be messing around with their blitzball game while Selphie was always off in her little fantasy world and so Riku and Sora, having no siblings and family friends, would spends days on end with only each other for company.

And it was an arrangement that Riku would have happily lived out for the rest of their lives.

But then Kairi came. Sora's attention was instantly divided between his best friend and the cute red-haired girl who had moved from another world. Frustrating was an understatement of how Riku really felt about this. He had hoped after Sora's initial excitement over someone from another world, she'd go play with Selphie instead and everything to go back to normal. However, much to his chagrin, she continued to tag along with them, clinging to Sora despite the fact they were playing 'boy games' like pirates.

Riku looked up sharply when he caught a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye, already reaching for his sword expecting it to be a Heartless. It wasn't though.

_Sora!_ His happy thought soon turned sour as he realised who was right on the brunette's heels, _and Kairi... What are they doing...?_

Riku tucked his sword away as he hurriedly made to follow them, hoping he wouldn't lose them. Thankfully, it didn't seem they were going very far from where he had sat.

_The Gummi Ship?_ His eyebrows furrowed, _But I thought we weren't going to leave for another day...? Or does he hate me so much that he'd leave without me?_ He thought miserably, _But I don't see Donald or Goofy either... he couldn't be thinking of leaving without them either?!_

Riku rushed forward, hoping to stop his best friend before he did something stupid. No matter how strong Sora had become, he couldn't fight them alone with only a defenceless Kairi as his support. Riku wasn't even sure the girl knew any healing spells, let alone any offensive ones.

"Sora, wait!" he shouted when the brunette turned in his direction, his eyes boring into Riku's. But he didn't stop and the ship lifted into the wide, open sky.

And Riku could do nothing but watch as the ship disappeared from sight; the hateful look Sora had just given him imprinted in his mind.

-

Sora glanced up at the dark, foreboding castle and gulped mentally, "Are you sure this is the place, Kairi?"

Beside him, Kairi nodded, "Yeah, Belle lives here. She's one of the seven Princesses of Heart," she said, sounding awfully chipper as she skipped towards the massive, iron gates. Sora spared her a strange look but quickly followed; who knew what kind of monsters could be hiding in the shadows?

To Sora's chagrin, the gates slid open at the slightest push of Kairi's hand. The castle looked no less scary up close, with dark clouds threatening to downpour on them without a moment's notice. But from here he could see a few lights, a sight that made him sigh mentally in relief. After all, it meant actually people were living in there and not ghosts, because ghosts wouldn't need lights. ...Not that he was scared of ghosts, mind you. He'd gotten over that fear a long time ago...

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Kairi suddenly called out, making Sora jump.

"Kairi!" he hissed, motioning her to be quiet. The red-head ignored him however, and continued to call out. Sora sighed and shook his head in defeat, knowing there was little he could do to make her change her mind when she was determined to do something. He looked up again, contemplating joining her, just in time to see brown and purple streak past him, grabbing onto Kairi.

She shrieked loudly, trying desperately to pull her grasp from the large, brown, hairy beast cloaked in dark purple and with very sharp-looking teeth.

"Let her go!" Sora shouted, summoning the Keyblade, wondering what the creature could be. It certainly didn't look like any heartless he'd ever seen...

The beast bared his teeth at them, "What are you doing here?!" he growled. Kairi ignored him and continued to shriek. Somehow, during her flailing she managed to smack him hard on the nose. The beast groaned, letting the girl go to message his abused nose. Sora, seeing that chance, charged forward and smacked him on the head. Not fast enough to evade that attack, the Beast growled one last time before dropping onto the ground unconscious with a sound thump.

"Nice job, Sora!" Kairi crowed, nudging the creature slightly with her foot to check that he wasn't going to get back up again any time soon.

Sora scratched the back of his head, flushing at the praise, "Yeah..."

Certain that the beast wasn't about to get up again and stab them in the back, the two ventured forward to the large double doors that were now ajar, light streaming out from within.

"Wow!" Kairi said in awe as they stepped inside. Sora wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment; this place was huge! It was everything he would have expected from a castle and then some! Lavishly furnished with expensive furniture, old portraits lining the walls, a humongous chandelier dangling from the centre of the ceiling and the elaborate stairs that wound around the room up to the second floor; just like he remembered from fairytale books! Vaguely, he wondered whether a Princess lived here.

"Of course a Princess lives here, silly!" Kairi giggled. Sora blinked, not realising he had said the last line out loud.

"Miss Belle!" Kairi called out again though this time much louder as it echoed around the empty hallway. It was long before they heard the approaching sound of clinking. The door to their right slid open and from behind it appeared...

Sora's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" a small wooden clock said, staring at the two teens curiously.

"Vizitors?" a candelabra piped up from beside him in an obvious French accent.

"Do come in, dears," a teapot said next, "You must be terribly cold from outside."

The two teens, though still flabbergasted, were quick to agree, eager to warm themselves up again. The teapot hadn't been joking when she mentioned it must have been cold outside; the layer of snow proved that point very firmly.

As the two settled themselves by the fireplace and after they introduced themselves, the Cogsworth looked at them, "Erm... Ahem, you wouldn't happen to have seen our Master have you? We were sure we heard him out there but it seems it were only you."

Kairi shook her head, "No, we haven't sorry."

"Zat is very peculiar," the Lumiere mused.

"Maybe he's spending some time with Belle," the teapot said happily, "they're getting on so well now after all."

"Oh, Belle!" Kairi sat up, "We were actually looking for her. Do you think we could talk to her for a moment?"

"Looking for Belle, you say," Cogsworth said, "Well, I don't think the Master would be very happy about that..."

"Please," Sora pleaded, "I need her help to find a friend of mine."

"Well, I don't see why they can't talk to Belle for a little while," Mrs. Potts said, "If it's to help find a friend and you're not here to take her away."

"Oh, no," Kairi shook her head, "We just need to talk to her."

"Talk to who?" a voice piped in.

Everyone looked up towards to door, "Oh, Belle!" Mrs. Potts smiled, "These nice children here wish to-"

"Well, this makes things a lot easier," Kairi interrupted. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Kairi?" Sora questioned, "What...?"

But before he got to finish, Kairi stuck out her right hand and to everyone's horror, the shadows grew and from within them, out sprang dark creatures.

_Heartless_, Sora thought, already unconsciously summoning his keyblade.

"I'd put that away if I were you, Sora."

Sora turned to look at her again, his eyes widening when he saw what she was doing, "Kairi?! What are you doing? Let go of her now!" The red-haired girl had moved to beside Belle, wielding a long spear with its sharp point hovering dangerously near Belle's throat.

A shout beside him had Sora's head spinning once more, this time his gaze resting on the animated household objects that were being hoarded into another room by the Heartless. His gaze then spun back to Kairi's angrily, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What am I doing?" Kairi smiled and smashed the back of Belle's head hard with the wooden part of her spear, laughing as the Princess fell to the ground in an unconscious heap, "Do you know what they call me? What **you all** call me? **Weak**," she hissed, "**Useless. **Well, I'm done being like that. I'm sick and tired of being left in the shadows because they thought I couldn't handle anything. **Well, look at me now**!" she crowed, "I've captured a Princess, something none of **them** have done. **Who's weak and useless now, huh**?" Kairi smirked, "Especially, not when I bring them the keyblade as well."

Sora stared at her in disbelief, "I-I don't understand. Why are you doing this Kairi? And who are **they**?!"

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Never mind, it's obviously not worth the effort to explain it to a brain-dead hero-wannabe like you. Especially, since you won't be here much longer," she smiled, a crazed look in her eyes as she raised her spear at Sora.

Sora raised the keyblade, but his arm shook against his will.

"Will you fight me, Sora?" Kairi cooed, stepping closer, "Will you hurt me? **Kill me**?"

Sora clenched his empty fist but felt all his determination wilt away. He couldn't fight her – she was his friend... he couldn't bring himself to hurt her...

Kairi smirked, "That's right. Just stand still. I'll make it a clean and swift death... for old time's sake."

Sora clenched his eyes shut, body tensed up as she raised the spear. But as it began it's descent...

"_Protego_!"

Sora's eyes snapped open, just in time for him to watch the spear bounce off a glowing blue shield with a soft _ping_. Kairi screeched in anger, "You! What are you doing here?!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "To stop you," turning his wand on her again.

Kairi cringed, knowing she was no match for him, quickly turned her gaze to Sora, "You're not about to let him hurt me are you, Sora?" she asked deploringly, "Help me!"

Sora glanced between the two, clearly unable to come to a decision. They both meant a lot to him...

"That's not Kairi, Sora," Harry glared in the girl's direction, "The real Kairi's in Hollow Bastion. You're just a Heartless."

Sora stared at Kairi wide-eyed, "You're a Heartless?"

Kairi, seeing her grip on Sora was loosening, quickly turned large, brown eyes on the brunette, "Of course not. Do I really look like a Heartless to you?"

"Well..."

"Heartless can come in any form and I've already seen a prime example of a Heartless masquerading as a human to know it's possible," Harry sneered, "With or without Sora's consent, I **will** kill you and make you give back the part of the real Kairi's soul that rightfully belongs to her."

"How do you **she** isn't the fake one then?!" Kairi screamed, grasping at straws now, "**You can't prove it! You can't prove anything!**"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Oh, can't I? _Specialis Revelio_!"

It was only for a second but that was all that was need for Sora to plainly see the Heartless Emblem that appeared on Kairi's forehead before it disappeared again.

"You are a Heartless!" Sora gasped, turning his keyblade on her. Kairi scowled, knowing there was nothing she could do now to return Sora to her side so instead, she changed.

Harry and Sora watched, aghast, as the small form of Kairi morphed into her true Heartless body. Her skin darkened into black, her body growing several times her natural height, just barely fitting into the tiny room. With a roar, she swung her overgrown spear forward forcing Harry and Sora to hastily slam back into the wall because of the small size of the room. She stuck her hand out, stars shooting out towards them. Sora stared incredulously as one embedded itself in the wall beside him, _Paopu fruit?!_

"_Stupefy_!" Harry shouted. As it struck Kairi, the Heartless paused but soon she shook off its effects, swinging her spear at them once more. Sora jumped forward and blocked it, though with much struggle. Slowly but surely however, he managed to push her back, leaving her front wide open for Harry.

"_Firaga_!" Harry tried again, putting as much power into it as he could. It struck the Heartless, sending her into screeches of agony and stumbling backwards from the pain. Sora jumped up and in a wide arc, spun down and struck her hard on the head. The Kairi gave one last scream before in a flash of bright light, all that remained was the unconscious human body of Kairi splayed out on the floor.

The two boys gave twin sighs of relief before turning to look at each other in surprise. They immediately looked away, both uncertain where they stood with the other at the moment.

"I- ...Kairi would be so happy to see you again, Sora," Harry finally said. Another pause, "I- I'm so sorry Sora. I'm such an idiot. I didn't listen to you like I should have," Harry stared down at the floor sadly, "I'm not expecting you to forgive me or anything, I just... I'm sorry I'm such a screw up, I-"

Whatever else Harry was going to say, he didn't get to finish as a brown blur flew at him and wrapped itself around Harry's waist. Harry stared down at the tuft of brown hair in amazement before raising his arms to wrap around the smaller boy as well. "I'm glad you're okay," Sora mumbled into his shirt.

Harry smiled into Sora's brown hair, grateful he'd been given another chance. A chance he was, not under any circumstance, going to ruin ever again. And for the first time in a long time, Harry felt he could live the life his family would have wanted him to live and to leave his past as no more than memories, everlasting but cherished. And when they finally pulled apart, they couldn't stop the goofy grins they gave each other.

"So, uh..." Harry glanced around, "Where's Riku?" his brow furrowed in worry when the smile dropped from Sora's face.

"He... didn't want to help me look for you," Sora said stiffly.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest, knowing there was more to that but wasn't about to pry so instead he said with a wry grin, "I'm not surprised... though I don't really blame him either."

Sora blinked at him, "Huh?"

"I wouldn't be happy either if someone came along took away the attention of my best friend either," Harry laughed.

Sora frowned, "Still, that doesn't give him reason to be such a bastard about it though."

Harry grinned, "Maybe. But I also think that maybe it's best that he's that way."

Sora gave him a strange look that said, _Are you nuts?_

Harry shrugged, though his grin said that he completely agreed with that sentiment but decided to explain himself anyway, "Him being this way... I feel like that I don't need to worry about you so much because I know he'll always be there to look out for you and protect you. So don't stay angry at him, okay?"

Sora humphed but said nothing.

It was then the sound of a shadow portal opening caught their attention. Harry and Sora turned round, horrified to see Kairi dragging the still unconscious Belle into the portal.

"**Fools!**" Kairi cackled and before either boys could do anything, both Kairi and Belle disappeared from sight.

"Crap!" Sora shouted while Harry grimaced.

"Guess we have no choice," and with that, Harry created another shadow portal. Sora eyed the portal suspiciously but refrained from commenting knowing there was no other way. A gummi ship would take too long.

But just as they were going to step forward, the door slammed open and in came the Beast from before. Sora gasped and raised his keyblade but a clock run in from behind him, "No, wait, stop! This is the Master of the Castle!"

"He's harmless, really," Lumiere added, ignoring the Beast's growl at that comment.

Sora's eyes widened, "The Master of the Castle? OH!" he awkwardly bowed, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know! If I had known, I wouldn't have attacked you!"

"You're forgiven," the Beast grumbled making Sora snap back up in surprise, "You're forgiven as long as you take me with you."

Harry looked at him, "For Belle?" he hazarded. The Beast nodded, "Alright then, let's go. We could use all the help we can get to take **them** on..."

And so the wizard, the keyblade master and the Beast stepped through the portal as one.

-

Cloud ran an agitated hand over his face as Riku and Squall continued to argue. The blonde and the brunette had arrived a while ago in Traverse Town to ask for Cid and Merlin's help as they'd come across a barrier in their search for Harry. It was then revealed that Riku actually had the component necessary for passing the barrier having been entrusted it by Sora earlier on when they found it. However, in exchange for the part, Riku insisted that they go look for Sora too. As a result, they'd been arguing over the compass ever since.

Currently, the two were pulling the compass back and forth between them like a couple of six-year olds. Cloud growled angrily but there was little he could do but wait for them to come to a decision. _There isn't time for this damn it!_

"Enough with the arguing you too! You don't have time for this!" hissed an angry Aerith. Apparently, their squabbling had finally gotten to the abnormally irate girl. Missing the two people she saw as her little brothers tended to do that.

"Hey, doesn't the compass point in the same direction no matter whether it's Squall or Riku holding it?" Irvine suddenly pointed out, staring at the compass curiously. After a slight test, they found he was absolutely right.

"It seems the two are at the same place at the moment," Merlin mused, stroking him long, white beard.

"Well then?" Yuffie shook her finger at Squall and Riku, "Get going!"

They didn't need to be told twice.

-

Harry ducked under another fireball before flinging one of his own back, only to grimace as it hit the Defender's shield. Sora took this opportunity to jump over it, managing to slash it a couple of times before it spun around and hit him with it's shield.

"Ow," Sora pouted as Harry threw a Cure at him and the Beast fended off their attackers.

The Defenders moved forward as one, and the three humans prepared themselves for the onslaught when a familiar gunshot rang out, striking the middle Defender in the back before it gave a groan disappeared, releasing a heart into the air.

"Harry!" "Sora!" voices shouted.

The two looked up in astonishment. "Squall..." "Riku..."

* * *

**-sits down on the path dressed in rags and raises up a cardboard sign- will work for reviews! Please help this poor and humble fanfiction writer get to 100 reviews by the end of this story :D thanks in advance!!**

p.s. I'm still losing to Cloud concerning the Squall/Harry shippy... Gah...! -whacks Cloud on the noggin- I wrote a separate fic for you damn it! Stop trying to come in between the two or at least be willing to share!

Cloud: -shrugs and snatches Harry from Squall- There's no need. Just write a FF8/HP for Leonhart.

Squall: -pulls Harry back to him and glares at Cloud- Get your own Strife.

Cloud: -smug but does nothing- I already do. -leers at Harry- I can't wait 'til I stop being so naïve and innocent in _Gaia's Children_.

Squall: -growls and blizzaga's Cloud- Stay away from him!

Cloud: -dodges and throws a firaga back- Hah, as if! Who knows what will happen to him if I leave him with **you**!

Squall: -limit break: Lion Heart- At least I didn't let him be taken by someone who was supposed to be a **friend**!

Cloud: -limit break: Omnislash- Like you could protect him any better!

Harry: -scowls and thundaga's them both- I can look after myself, thanks.

Squall and Cloud: -on the floor, unconscious, twitching and smoking slightly-

Retse: -sweatdrops- Harry... I think you may have overdone it a little...

Harry: -shrugs- They deserved it. I'm not some damsel in distress.

Retse: ...


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **(in the shounen-ai sense and not the yaoi sense... I really don't noe how to write it...) anda warning of unbetaedness as usual...

**Pairings:** Leon/Harry, Cloud/Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (now depending on whether Cloud will cooperate or not o.o), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/?, Irivne/Aerith, oh and maybe Cid/Yuffie if I really feel twisted... okay maybe not, that's taking absurd to a whole new level... where's Vincent when you have a cheeky, hyper ninja princess and a profane captain that smokes like a chimney to sick on him? Hmm...

**Summary:** Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came. (I still can't think of a better summary haha...)

**Note 1.** To those that reviewed... Dagger1211, insanechildfanfic, Hiruma Musouka, Kedava, Jewl4Life, xRosePetalx, Silver Tears 11, Shinigami's Shadow and SilverPantsSven, 917brat, sunao, Neko Youkai 13, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, TheOneThatIsAddictedToHPfics, Raika Katsuya, animelava, AgRose001, LOL, LadyWolfRider... **THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO YOU GUYS :D THANK YOU!!**

**Note 2.** only 5346 words this time o.o was gonna write more but it seemed right to finish where I did...

**Note 3.** Sorry it took so long peeps o.o but this story kept on getting angstier and angstier as I wrote it so I had to start again haha... and trust... I'm soooooo glad I did... (suffice to say, when I went back to read the original again... -shudder-)

**Note 4.** Last chappie for this fic! BANZAI!! for once in my life-time, I actually finished a fic :D I'm so proud of myself heh...

**Note 5.** will edit this later :P but anyone willing to point out any errors, please do :)

* * *

**Chapter 9.**

_The sakura-haired man watched as an equally dark-robed individual peer into the large basin of water that glowed ethereally in the mostly shadowed room, lit up on the odd occasion by the soft flame of the few candles scattered around the large room. He watched as a manic grin crossed over his face, his mouth being the only part that could be seen beneath his hood._

"_Girl!" the hooded man shouted. A soft pitter-patter of small feet reached the sakura-haired man's ears, growing louder with each step before they slowed, a petite red-haired child slipping through the crack between the large twin wooden doors._

"_What?" the little girl said disdainfully despite the obvious rush she had been in to obey the man's summoning._

_The twisted but amused smile that came on the man's face was one Marluxia oft used himself yet, seeing it on the Heartless' face, it sent him a sense of foreboding that confused and irritated him. Since when has he ever worried about his pets?_

"_I've grown tired of your blathering on for a chance to prove yourself," the man said, "__**Don't**__ disappoint me."_

_Blue eyes gleamed beneath red-hair as the darkly robed man simply pointed at her. She could feel it, the power beginning to course through her. She giggled as it tingled through her nerves and veins; empowering every single cell in her tiny little body. This was it! This was her chance to become truly great! No longer did she need her other half to reach her full potential!_

_Revenge would only be the beginning._

_A few instructions later, the darker half of Kairi scurried off eagerly towards the entrance where she'd meet her 'friends', leaving 'Ansem' to smile darkly down at the visage of a certain raven-haired individual making his way up the rock platforms of Hollow Bastion, the Keyblade wielder and the Beast beside him._

_Marluxia continued to silently watch as he weighed the pros and cons of interfering with the events that were about to occur._

_And decided he didn't like others using his pet. He was never one to share._

_-_

After making quick work of the remaining Heartless, the four stared at each other, none sure what to say. Sora was still upset with Riku, the small frown directed his way was all the silver-haired teen needed to see to know he had his work cut out for him. On the other hand, Harry watched as Squall's eyes flickered to Sora before meeting Harry's eyes hopefully. The look gnawed at his heart painfully; how could Squall still want him after everything he'd done? What had he done to deserve such devotion?

Harry bit his lip nervously, "Squall, I-" He never got to finish the rest of sentence though as the brunette closed the gap between and kissed him. His arms wrapped around Harry's small frame tightly, as if he were afraid the younger male would disappear once more, as Squall poured all his feelings towards him into the simple but heartfelt action.

_There was no need for an apology as he'd already been forgiven._

To their side, Sora blushed instantly but beamed happily at everyone and everything, so caught up in the heart-warming scene he'd forgotten to glare at Riku when the silver-haired teen edged his way over his side while he had been distracted. Donald, on the other hand, squawked loudly in surprise before turning around in embarrassment, Goofy following quickly as he scratched the back of his head with laugh. The Beast huffed loudly but a flush of red could be seen even under all that fur as he turned his head away, arms crossed over his chest. And Cloud... well...

"I missed you," Squall murmured into Harry's raven locks when he finally pulled away, lovingly trailing his hand down the other's back.

Harry gripped onto Squall's jacket a little tighter as he hummed contently into the man's shirt, a smile on his face as he practically melted in the warmth the brunette exuded, "Missed you too," came the muffled reply.

"See, I told you everything would work out," Sora grinned cheekily at his self-appointed older brother.

Harry rolled his eyes, smiling, as he pulled away from Squall, retort already at the tip of his tongue. But he didn't manage a single syllable as all thoughts flew out of his mind when his eyes fell a familiar tuft of blonde hair wrapped in a dark cloak.

"C-cloud?" Harry gasped in an awe-filled voice, "Is that... really you?"

The blonde smiled warmly, face completely devoid of any of his earlier disdain, "Hey," he said softly.

A beauteous smile appeared on Harry's face, "Cloud!" he released himself from Squall's grasp before almost throwing himself at the blonde. Squall might have been his boyfriend but Cloud had been the very first friend he had made in Radiant Garden. The blonde had shown him around, helping him get settled in the hectic place that Harry would one day call home.

Cloud caught him easily, hugging him as tightly as brunette had, if not more so. He smiled down at the mop of raven-hair pressed against him, not bothering to restrain himself as he tilted his head down to press a soft kiss to Harry's forehead. The younger male blinked and stared up at him in surprise but not a moment later, his smile returned even brighter than the one before. Suddenly, Cloud felt an irritated pressure directed at his head and he looked up, his eyes immediately locking onto Squall's icy blue ones glaring angrily at him. There was only one way really for Cloud to respond and that was exactly what he did.

He threw Squall the smuggest smirk he could. (And you know what they say, "if eyes could kill...")

Sora laughed nervously seeing the looks of death being sent back and forth between the blonde and the brunette, very relieved that they hadn't considered him as a threat to their relationship with Harry.

"He's very... popular," Riku mused quietly beside him.

"Yeah..." Sora nodded, "And I'm still mad at you," he continued without turning to even look at Riku.

A short pause. "Oh."

By now, Harry had finally realise something was wrong as he lifted his face from Cloud's shirt, following the blonde's gaze curiously before they fell on icy blue eyes that were alternating between glaring menacingly at the Cloud and sending Harry looks you'd see on a kicked-puppy.

Emerald eyes widened as he hastily dislodged himself from Cloud's grip, cheeks growing warmer and warmer when he realised what what he had done would have looked like to Squall. He hadn't meant to give more attention to Cloud, really! He was just... glad that Cloud was unhurt and still alive! **Really**! (Harry hurriedly slapped his conscience away when it started to chant a certain word starting with d...)

Harry coughed in embarrassment, eyes not quite meeting Squall's as he said, "Anyway, we better get going before certain unwanted people come," immediately images of a certain sakura-haired man popped up in Squall's head and it was all he could do as he refrained from grinding his teeth in barely concealed irritation, "Kairi should be in the main chamber in the heart of the castle with all the other Princesses. Let's go."

Everyone nodded in answer and Harry turned and made to open the door but a hand of his arm stopped him. Emerald eyes looked up at the Squall quizzically.

"I'll go in first," he said firmly.

Harry huffed, "I can look after myself!"

This time everyone turned to give him disbelieving looks. Harry scowled but stayed silent.

Squall gave a push and the large double doors slid open so easily it seemed unnatural especially considering their size. Seeing a lack of any visible threats, he nodded to the others and one by one they stepped through the opening and into the grand entrance hallway.

And not for the first time, Harry cursed the beings that turned his peaceful home into this farce. No longer were the walls lined with beautiful paintings of life and colour but instead crest up on crest of the dreaded Heartless with deep red, blue and black and the odd splash of gold. It reminded him of a Hogwarts that was no longer filled with children's laughter but with cold and deathly silence.

He hated it so much.

"Harry?" a soft voice called, a warm hand touching his. Harry broke out of his reverie to see Squall and the others staring at him worriedly, his hand clenching tightly onto Squall's sleeve.

"I'm fine," he replied automatically, loosening his grip as he strode forward.

"That's about as far as you'll be going now," a cheery voice echoed through the hall.

Everyone froze. "Kairi," Riku finally said, his voice a little resigned.

"No, not Kairi," Sora disagreed vehemently, making the silver-haired male to look at him in surprise.

'Kairi' giggled as she stepped out of the shadows and towards them, "Very good! You deserve a reward!"

Before anyone could comment, she threw the small locket in her hand straight at Harry with all her might. Harry raised his hand, catching it squarely in the middle of his palm purely on instinct from all his years as a seeker.

Unfortunately, as soon as it touched his skin, the raven-haired teen disappeared extracting many alarmed shouts from his friends.

"Harry!" Squall growled, "What did you do to him?!"

Kairi merely smiled that eerie, fake smile of hers, "One down... one to go," she said, turning her gaze to the glaring Riku. She raised her hand, a spear appearing in a flash of black smog, Heartless of all shapes and sizes springing up all around her.

Cloud scowled, drawing his Buster, the others quick to follow his example as they drew their own weapons, "We don't have time for this," he hissed, annoyed at himself for allowing Harry to be taken from him again.

"Then what are you waiting for?" her cheery demeanour disappeared as her voice distorted, shadows coiling around her body as she cheek glowed and faded, leaving the Heartless emblem in its wake, "Let me release from your pitiful existences."

-

Harry winced as he fell to the floor with a loud thump. All these years and he still hadn't gotten used to Port-key travel...

_Wait... __**Port-key**__?!_ Harry thought disbelieving as he stared at the seemingly innocent looking locket in his hand. He hastily took in his surroundings, eyes widening when he realised exactly where he had been sent. Six glass chambers lined the walls, three to Harry's left and the other three to his right, and within each lay a single Princess.

Hesitantly, he took several steps forward, raising his hand to tap the thick glass casing lightly. Behind it, Princess Aurora remained silent, eyes shut and closed from the world around. Harry frowned to himself as he raised his wand. With a slight wave, he banished the glass. Thankfully, the Princess did not tip forward as soon as the glass was removed as he was afraid she was going to. Raising his left had once more, he pressed it lightly against her throat. To his relief, a steady pulse throbbed underneath his fingers. It was a little slow but nothing life-threatening. She wasn't dead, merely asleep.

Turning his attention to the other Princesses, he banished the glass coverings the trapped each off the Princesses. No sign of any injuries either... they were all going to be okay. If fact, Princess Aurora appeared to be stirring even now.

A low groan suddenly reverberated throughout the room, making Harry jump. He whipped his head around, eyes falling on the sliver of light that shone through the newly formed gap between two large wooden walls. Emerald eyes narrowed, wand tightly gripped in his hand, Harry made his way towards the door. Peeking through the crack, he could see a large room, the metal pipes lining the walls glinting under the bright glow of the heart-shaped portal in the middle of the room. Seeing nothing else, he gently eased the door open and stepped inside, his mind a little hazy as the glowing portal seemed to call out to him, drawing him near.

And as he stepped in front of the portal, Harry's eyes widened in realisation, _Is that...?_

"Yes, the path has emerged at last," a deep voice spoke up behind him. Harry spun around, wand raised as white-haired, dark-skinned man with eerie golden eyes stepped out from the shadows, cloaked in a thick, black robe.

"The Keyhole to the darkness..." Harry whispered tensely, eyes trained on the other man.

The man smiled, "However, the Keyhole will remain incomplete without the last Princess of Heart. So..." he raised the dark Keyblade in his hand, pointing it at Harry, "Come, my **Princess**," he beckoned, "Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door and lead me into everlasting darkness!"

-

Riku grunted as not for the first time, Kairi's spear came dangerously close to embedding itself in his head. The no longer cute little girl shrieked nonsense about power and darkness as she flew at them with an inhumane speed they could only just manage to dodge. Between that and fending off the relentless onslaught of Heartless, there was little time for them to attack the Heartless Kairi.

"You can't beat me!" Kairi laughed, "This is it! This power! Darkness... the true Darkness! Tell me: Who needs saving **now**?!"

"Hmm, still you," he suddenly heard Sora say and as he looked up, he watched in amazement as Sora darted forward just as fast as Kairi and slash deftly into the little girl, cleanly cleaving the arm that held the spear from the rest of her body.

"How is this possible?!" she screamed in agony, "How can you be this powerful?! It must be the Keyblade... You'd be nothing without the Keyblade!"

"No, you're wrong Kairi," Sora watched her writhing form sadly, "I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart."

"Your heart?" Kairi sneered, "What good will that weak little thing do for you?"

"Although my heart may be weak," Sora said, placing a hand upon his heart, "it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if beating you would keep them safe, then I'd win every time with or without the Keyblade. Now," he glared at her, "give us back, Harry."

Kairi giggled, her hair draped over her face, "Your **heart**," she repeated mockingly, "**Friends**," she hissed, "**I don't need any of that!**" she screamed as her body finally caved to the pressure and exploded. The room shook heavily, the floor cracking beneath their feet from the impact.

"Uh oh," Donald mumbled and then they fell.

-

Marluxia silently slipped through the shadowed corridors, swiftly making his way to the main chamber where he was certain his pet would soon appear in. His thoughts fell on the other darkly robed man and the plans in action concerning the emerald-eyed beauty, freezing him momentarily. What was this strange, unfamiliar feeling welling up in him?

A light frown crossed his face; so long had he been a Nobody he'd forgotten how to discern one emotion from another. In fact, he was amazed he was feeling anything at all. A Nobody did not have emotions, did not have feelings. A Nobody didn't have a heart.

And yet, here he was dealing with this unusual occurrence.

_Could it be... jealously?_ He pondered thoughtfully. It seem the most relevant... and the most logical. For it couldn't be anything else, especially for one like him; one who had not felt concern for another even as a human...

_Concern..._

Marluxia leered, _My, my... I certainly knew my pet was a special one but this..._ he let out a small giggle; now wasn't this interesting?

"Laughing to yourself?" an amused voice spoke up behind him, "You sure seem to have a lot of spare time..."

Marluxia turned, his lips curved into a sardonic smirk, "And what about you? To take time out of your busy schedule to come see little, ol' me... Well, I'm afraid to say my **heart** has been stolen by another," he said with a mock wistful tone.

Ansem gave a bark of laughter, "I see you haven't change a bit. No matter," golden eyes glinted, making Marluxia tense slightly though he did not show it, "It's all been accounted for in my original plan."

"And that means... what?" Marluxia drawled.

"I won't allow **anyone **tointerfere and so..." a wide, manic smile appeared on Ansem's face as shadows coiled around but even as he disappeared into nothingness, his voiced echoed throughout the corridor, "A parting gift, my **friend**."

A loud rumble and crumbling suddenly shook the corridor, bringing small bits of dirt and dust to rain down from the ceiling. Marluxia scowled as he brushed them off his hair and clothing irritably. Two softer thuds had his head spinning around, his scowl deepening further as he realised exactly what those two things were.

Two very unwelcome things.

One of which chose that same moment to look up at him and pin him with an icy glare, "**Marluxia**," Squall growled.

Said sakura-haired man sighed; it seems his pet will just have to wait a little longer...

-

Sora groaned, his body aching slightly from the impact of falling how ever much they had fallen. Blearily, he pried his eyes open, staring long and hard at the fuzzy image of red hair and pale skin before him, trying to force his muddled mind to work.

"Oh, Sora! You're awake!" a happy and strangely familiar voice called out.

And then he remembered. With a gasp, he scrambled backwards, Keyblade already raised in his right hand.

"What's wrong?" the girl stared at him in confusion.

Sora blinked, "...Kairi?" he said tentatively.

She smiled, "Sora."

"Kairi!" the brunette shouted happily, springing forward to pull her into a hug, "Kairi! It's you! It's really you, isn't it?!"

Kairi huffed, "Of course it's me, silly. Who else could I be?" she said, poking him in the side.

Sora grinned brightly at the petite girl in front of him, words escaping him for once in his life time. It was her... It really was her! His heart knew for certain.

To their side, Goofy glanced worriedly their silver-haired companion. Riku watched the reunion with a smile but there was no real happiness behind. Only sadness and resignation. Their eyes met for a moment but aquamarine eyes turned away immediately, his long fringe shielding his face from any watchers.

"But now isn't the time for this! You've got to hurry, Sora!" Kairi suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Sora said, not understanding her meaning.

"It's Harry! He's in danger! You've got to help him!" she said urgently.

Sora's eyes widened; he hadn't expected to find the older teen so quickly, "Harry's here? Where is he?"

As soon as she pointed at the large wooden doors behind her, he jumped up and ran towards them. With a loud thump, the gave the doors a solid kick. They swung open and Sora was quick to step inside but... it seems he was too late.

"**Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door and lead me into everlasting darkness!**"

Sora could only watch in horror as Ansem drove a dark blade straight into Harry's chest.

"Harry!!"

For a moment nothing happened as if time itself had frozen but then a bright light shone from Harry's prone body. It was small at first but soon it engulfed the room with it's glow forcing them to shield their eyes. As soon as it appeared, however, it faded away as the echoing sound of a large explosion filled the room instead and before they knew it, they were blown back and knocked off their feet by a massive wave of energy that burst out from within the heart-shaped portal.

When the energy finally weakened, Sora slowly raised his head in time to see Ansem step up to the swirling portal.

"Ah... the Keyhole is finally complete," he said with a satisfied smirk. He turned his head slightly to glance at the prone body on the floor behind him, "You have served your purpose, Princess." And with that, the darkness reached out and swallowed him whole.

Sora struggled but he managed to heave himself up from the ground. With a brief glance to his side to reassure himself that the others were fine, he stumbled onward, coming to kneel beside the raven-haired teen.

"Harry?" he called out hesitantly at first before reaching to nudge the older teen, "Harry?" he called out again, louder this time but wavering slightly. He watched as Donald settled down on Harry's other side, giving his wand a firm wave.

Nothing happened.

He waved it a few more times, each time a little more desperately as the last. Eventually, he stoped, reaching out to take Harry's hand. And then... "I'm sorry, Sora," Donald said sadly.

Sora crawled closer, head bent over his body, hands fisted tightly into his shirt, _No... this isn't happening... we only just fixed everything! This wasn't supposed to happen!_"**NO!!**" He jumped up, Keyblade immediately appearing in his right hand and without another word, charged straight into the portal.

"Sora!"

-

Cloud jumped up before slamming his large blade into the spot where Marluxia stood only moments ago. The sakura-haired man was then forced to hastily duck awkwardly mid-jump as another blade sliced through the air above his head. Taking a few more small jumps back he took a second to analyse his opponents and grimaced mentally.

The blonde and the brunette eyed each, sending each other silent messages. One particular message stood out from the rest; _I'll work with you... for now_.

They contemplated their next action, trying to figure out a way to catch the sakura-haired man off-guard when a loud explosion rocked the corridor, raining down more dust particles reminiscent of before. They looked up into the direction of the explosion, grim looks crossing their faces as they prayed that it had nothing to do with Harry and the others.

If only they could be so lucky.

"Shit!"

Squall blinked at the blonde's sudden use of profanity, "What?"

"He's gone!" Cloud hissed angrily.

Squall's eyes widened, head whipping around; Marluxia was gone.

No more words needed to be exchanged as they sprinted through the darkened hallways of Hollow Bastion. It didn't take much thinking to guess where the assassin was headed; all they needed to do was run towards the source of the explosion. It felt like forever but finally, seven pairs of eyes turned to look at them in surprise when they smashed through the entrance.

"In there!" a red-haired little girl cried out urgently when she shook off the surprise, pointing to large wooden doors behind her. They instantly ran towards them and slammed the doors open but... like Sora, they were seconds too late.

For there was Marluxia, an unmoving Harry in his arms and a shadow portal at his back.

Marluxia smirked at them when he realised who had just entered, "Sorry we have to leave so soon," he cooed, "but it's been fun!" and then stepped through with Harry, the portal disappearing immediately.

"**Shit!!**"

-

"It is futile," Ansem choked with the last of his energy, "The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to the darkness," unfocused eyes turned to door sitting innocently in the distance and then he shouted, "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!"

There was a loud creak and then slowly, but surely the door opened, thick black smoke seeping out from within.

Ansem smiled, "Supreme darkness," he said reverently, hand reaching out towards the darkness.

"You're wrong," Sora said firmly, "I know now... without a doubt... Kingdom Hearts... **is light!!**"

And suddenly a bright light shone out from behind the smoke illuminating the world around them.

Ansem gasped, "Lights? But why...?" No one had a chance to answer him as the light engulfed him and then, he was just gone.

"Come on!" Sora hurriedly gestured to the others and they rushed to close the door.

"Stop staring and keep pushing!" Donald scolded the still Goofy. He huffed, peeking around him to see what the other was staring at and gasped.

"The Heartless?!" Both Donald and Goofy cried at the same time.

"Hurry!" Sora cried but it was no use... the door refused to budge. What they needed was...

"Don't give up!" Riku suddenly shouted.

Sora gaped as he watched the silver-haired teen run to the other side of the door, "Riku-?!"

"Come on, Sora! Together we can do it!"

"But...!"

Suddenly another figure appeared behind Riku and began to cut through the approaching Heartless, "Close it quickly!" he shouted.

"Your Majesty!"

"Sora..."

The brunette turned to Riku, giving him his full attention even as the slid closer and closer to being shut completely.

"Sora, I'm sorry."

"Riku, what-?"

"I just... got so mad whenever you talked to or about someone else. I wanted to be the only one you thought about, the only one you cared about. So much that I stopped thinking before I said anything. And I know... I've said a lot of things that have upset you and that's something I never meant to do. I never wanted to be the one that made you sad, Sora, and I'm sorry. I just hope that maybe, maybe one day you'll forgive me..."

"Riku... I-"

"They're coming!" Donald cried urgently.

"W-wait..." Sora's voiced wavered, eyes wide, _this isn't right..._

"Sora," Riku stared deeply into his eyes, "I just want you to know... I love you."

And with one last shudder, the doors slid shut with a resounding thud.

"No... Riku! Wait!!" Sora shouted, fists slamming onto the door, "Don't go..." _Why...?_

All around them, the world began to shake and piece by piece, it shattered and broke apart.

And then everything was white.

_Riku..._

-

The walls, the floor and the ceiling began to shake once more but this time blocks of stone started to shift and break, showering them with something far more hazardous that dust and dirt.

And it didn't appear it was going to stop any time soon.

But before Squall and Cloud could even contemplate their next move, the air in front of them sparked, shifted and swirled and before they knew it they were staring into a shadow portal.

Squall narrowed his eyes at it before glancing to his right. Cloud turned and their eyes met.

"What?" Cloud quirked an eyebrow at him, "You scared?" he said, though both knew exactly why the other hadn't jumped through immediately; _Where did it go?_ and _Who made it?_ For all they knew, they might be jumping straight into a trap.

"Whatever," Squall dead-panned and then they both stepped into the portal.

_For Harry._

-

Blue eyes stared out onto the open ocean, the sun just beginning to set on the distant horizon. The sound of the waves crashing onto the soft, cool sand and the light rustle of palm leaves reached her ears but for the first time in her life, she couldn't find the comfort it once brought her.

She doubted anything could at the moment.

"Kairi!"

She turned her head slightly, plastering the brightest smile she could as she greeted her friend, "Selphie," it fell a little flat.

Selphie faltered slightly at the not-quite-smile but was quick to regain her happy-go-lucky nature, "It's getting late. We better start heading back, Kairi."

Kairi silently turned back to the ocean, "I... think I'm going to stay here a little longer..."

Selphie bit her lip lightly, "But..."

"I'll be alright."

Selphie hesitated but nodded, "Alright... but don't stay too long, okay?"

Kairi didn't turn around as she nodded absent-mindedly.

Selphie stared at her friend a worryingly but eventually left to get her boat. Surely Kairi would talk about what was bothering her when she was ready... And if she didn't...

When the soft footsteps upon sand finally faded away, Kairi reached into her shirt and pulled out a pendant. It was in the shape of a small ring with a single star attached to the ring with a solitary rod and it was about the size of her thumb.

"_Sora will no doubt eventually end up here but..." Kairi looked up at him quizzically as he reached for her hand, placing a small circular metal object in the palm of her hand, the chain slipping before dangling innocently on the side of her hand, "I want you to have this, just in case. It's a Port-key."_

"_A Port-key?"_

_Harry nodded, "I doubt anything will happen to you before the Door has been opened but if something happens and you're in danger, just read the words on it and it'll instantly take you to a safe place. It's a one-way trip though and only works once so choose carefully when you use it. Don't use it unless you absolutely have to."_

_Kairi nodded, peering curiously at the average looking necklace (that looked a tad too cute to belong to someone so serious as Harry), wondering how it worked. Along the rim of the ring were the words, "Per aspe-"_

_Harry hastily pressed his hand on her mouth, "Don't read it out aloud now," he said, looking at her in amusement and slight exasperation._

_Kairi blushed slightly but nodded, "Thank you."_

_Harry shrugged... and then he was gone._

Gently she ran her finger across the carefully engraved words, thinking. A "safe place" he had said but where...?

Kairi shook her head; it didn't matter where it took her... as long as it gave her the chance to see her friends again. Sora, Riku, Harry... she never did get a last chance to say goodbye to them properly and now... now they were all gone. She couldn't even say for certain they were still alive...

_No, no, no!_ She thought to herself fiercely, _They're alive! And well! They have to be..._

Blue eyes stared intensely at those four smalls words once more.

"**Per aspera ad astra**."

And then suddenly, the world swirled all around her before a strange force tugged harshly at her navel. She shut her eyes tightly, the spinning making her slightly nauseous. And then, as soon as it began, it ended and Kairi felt herself being dropped unceremoniously onto the floor.

"**Fucking shit**! You scared the hell out of me! Where the fuck did y- wait... **Kairi**?!"

The red-head took a deep breath to calm her rolling stomach before blinking up at the blonde man, a little alarmed, "Um... I'm sorry but... do I know you?"

-

_Harry rolled over when a ray of sunlight hit his face. He wasn't ready to face the world yet, good weather or not. Nor was he willing to release the familiar warmth that washed over him. A warmth he hadn't felt for a long, long time..._

_Emerald eyes snapped over and he immediately sprang up into an upright position. Red curtains assaulted his senses except for the small gap where the sun came through. Shakily, he raised his hand into the gap and slowly widened it._

_A red-head turned round to look at him, "'Bout time you woke up mate! Better hurry before you miss breakfast. And then we have Potions first," he said, wrinkly his nose in disgust before disappearing into the bathroom._

_The soft squeak of the taps and the light pitter-pattering of water reached his ears but Harry didn't really hear it. His breathing became laboured and his chest tightened as the bright sun, the blue sky and the lush green pitch all glared mockingly back at him._

**Hogwarts**.

* * *

Retse: I'M DONE! Kufufufu... -happily clicks the 'complete' button- Only two sequels to write left... -sweatdrop-

Harry: hmm -- kidnapped... and dead? Seriously, how lame can you be? And 'kufufufu'? WTF?

Retse: -laughs carelessly, scratching back of head- Sorry, been obsessing over Katekyo Hitman Reborn! For the last couple of months... Think I might write a KHR/HP crossover too... Anyway, review please? Only 5 more to go to get to 100 :D thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank yooooooooooooou!!

Harry: hmm but you know, being dead has its perks

Retse: oh? Like what?

Harry: well, remember last time?

-insert wavy change-to-another-scene thingy (what are they called? I can't seem to think of the name at the moment...)-

Retse: p.s. I'm still losing to Cloud concerning the Squall/Harry shippy... Gah...! -whacks Cloud on the noggin- I wrote a separate fic for you damn it! Stop trying to come in between the two or at least be willing to share!

Cloud: -shrugs and snatches Harry away from Squall... well at least he attempts to but his arm goes through Harry- **O.o**

Squall: Get your own Strife -also attempts to grab Harry but his arm also goes through Harry- **o.O**

Ghost-Harry: **:D** heheh... see?

Retse: ...

_per aspera ad astra_ – latin for through hardships to the stars


	11. Notice

A little belatedly, I remembered someone asking me to post here when the sequel was (finally) out.

And so here it is; the sequel has begun :P Go read it! :)

**Ring of Fate, Web of Lies, Chain of Memories**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

**Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Crossover**

**Warnings... **this fanfic contains** SLASH **(in the shounen-ai sense and not the yaoi sense... I really don't noe how to write it...) anda warning of unbetaedness as usual...

**Pairings:** Leon/Harry, Cloud/Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (watch me make them cooperate :D), Harry+Sora, Riku/Sora

**Summary:** When times turn for the worse, would you struggle through the chaos or let the memories fade to blissful ignorance? Castle Oblivion awaits and as usual, nothing is as it seems.

[...what? It's not really **here**: go check out my profile!]

[and hopefully won't kick me for posting a non-chapter o.O]


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